Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for £11 million

Dua Lipa has sued Samsung for $15 million (£11 million) over alleged unauthorised use of her image on television packaging.

The British pop star filed the lawsuit on Friday (8 May) in the US District Court for the Central District of California, naming Samsung Electronics as the defendant.

According to a complaint obtained by Rolling Stone, Samsung used a copyrighted image of the singer on the front of cardboard boxes containing Samsung-manufactured televisions for retail sale, alongside promotional material for the Samsung TV Plus service and the Xite Hits music channel.

The complaint covers three causes of action, including copyright infringement, trademark infringement, and violation of her right of publicity, and seeks at least $15 million in actual damages plus any profits Samsung made from the alleged infringement.

The image at the centre of the dispute originated from a backstage moment before her performance at the 2024 Austin City Limits Festival, and Lipa owns the copyright.

Her legal team argues Samsung capitalised on her commercial brand to drive television sales without authorisation, licence, or compensation, characterising the conduct as wilful and intended to create a false association with the singer.

How the packaging came to light

Lipa first became aware of her image on Samsung packaging in June 2025, when fans began commenting about the “Dua Lipa TV Box” on social media. The lawsuit quotes several Instagram and X posts as evidence the packaging shaped purchasing behaviour.

One cited comment reads “I wasn’t even planning on buying a TV, but I saw the box so I decided to get it”, while another states “I’d get that TV just because Dua Lipa is on it”.

Her legal team argues these reactions demonstrate the commercial value of her implied endorsement and the influence her likeness exerts on consumer decisions.

Lipa’s lawyers issued repeated cease and desist demands, which the complaint says Samsung ignored. The lawsuit describes Samsung’s response as “dismissive and callous” and accuses the company of “arrogance in refusing to stop its infringement”.

According to Engadget, Samsung continues to sell the televisions in the disputed packaging.

Samsung dominates the UK television market, and Samsung TV Plus runs as a free service on every Samsung Smart TV sold in Britain since 2016. The Xite Hits channel referenced in the lawsuit forms part of the music programming on the platform globally.

The court filing focuses on US retail distribution, and it remains unclear whether Samsung used the same packaging for televisions sold through UK retailers including Currys, Argos, and John Lewis.

UK consumers who bought a Samsung Crystal UHD set in the past twelve months may wish to check their original packaging if they kept it.

The case also raises broader questions about how major electronics firms vet third-party images used on retail marketing material.

Court documents reference Lipa’s formal partnerships with Puma, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Nespresso, where she became a global ambassador, alongside earlier work with Apple, Porsche, Chanel, and Tiffany & Co.

Her legal team argues she maintains a premium brand and operates a highly selective endorsement strategy, which strengthens the misappropriation argument, given no signed deal with Samsung exists.

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