topics
tools
Expatica countries
Index Last Var.(%)
BEL 20 2281.62 -1.00
DAX 6741.58 -0.37
IBEX 30 8783.6 -0.88
CAC 40 3390.12 -1.10
FTSE 100 5882.31 -0.32
AEX 324.37 -0.60
DJIA 12862.23 1.23
Nasdaq 2905.66 1.61
FTSE MIB 16292.96 -0.89
TSX Composite 12577.28 0.19
ASX 4364.6 1.03
Hang seng 20709.94 -0.23
Straits Times 2940.1 0.76
ISEQ 20 506.43 -0.10
You are here: Home News French News French first lady wins nude Carla bag lawsuit

French News

archive
Enlarge font Decrease font Text size


19/12/2008French first lady wins nude Carla bag lawsuit

French clothing company Pardon was ordered to pay Carla Bruni-Sarkozy EUR 40,000 in damages for featuring a photo of her in nude.

SAINT-DENIS – A French clothing company was ordered to pay Carla Bruni-Sarkozy EUR 40,000 in damages on Thursday over a shopping bag featuring a photo of the first lady in the nude.
 
The wife of President Nicolas Sarkozy filed suit this month against the fashion firm Pardon, based on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion, arguing that the white canvas bag violated her image rights.
 
The court in Saint-Denis, capital of the French island, agreed that Pardon "does not have, or even claim to have, Ms Carla Bruni's consent to use her image as part of a publicity campaign."
 
It banned all sales of the bag, which features a black-and-white picture of Bruni-Sarkozy taken from a famous 1993 photo of the model standing upright in the nude.
Pardon's boss Peter Mertes said after the hearing the damages were "excessive". "It's a heavy price to pay for a silly mistake," he complained.
 
He had told the court Monday that 10,000 bags, which were on sale in Reunion for three euros apiece, had already been pulled from the shelves and were destined to be burned.
 
Bruni-Sarkozy had been seeking EUR 125,000 in damages. The first lady intends to donate the proceeds to charity.
 
Her lawyer had argued that the photo in question was taken for an anti-AIDS campaign and that the first lady "did not want this goal to be hijacked" for commercial purposes.
 
The picture, taken by Swiss-born fashion photographer Michel Comte, fetched USD 91,000 at a New York auction in April.
 
The Pardon bags show the naked first lady with a talk bubble that reads: "My boyfriend should have bought me Pardon."
 
The case came shortly after a Paris appeals court ordered that a Sarkozy voodoo doll be sold with a label describing it as offensive to the president, but refused to ban the novelty.
 
Sarkozy and his 40-year-old wife, a supermodel-turned-singer, in February won a lawsuit filed against Irish budget airline Ryanair for featuring a photo of the couple in an ad campaign.
 
Ryanair was ordered to pay Bruni EUR 60,000 in damages, well short of the EUR 500,000 that she was seeking for use of her image without her consent.
Sarkozy was awarded a symbolic sum of EUR 1, as he had requested.
 
[AFP / Expatica]


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment

General rating: Not rated yet

Rate article:    Add my rating


0 reactions to this article

Be the first person to add a comment
Discussion Forums

Personal Finance in France

In Need of An Auto Loan

Sport in France

Open House at RITUEL PARIS - FREE CLASSES ON SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5TH

Community Noticeboard France

Republicans Abroad Europe

Immigration and Legal Problems

Doing PACS with my lesbian partner in France

Healthcare in France

U.S. federal employee health insurance coverage abroad

participate in the forums

Inside Expatica
Management culture in France

Management culture in France

This handy guide from Expertise in Labour Mobility includes information on business hierarchy, negotiations, and etiquette.

American associations and clubs in Paris

American associations and clubs in Paris

A listing of organizations in the Paris area that cater primarily to Americans living in France. Updated April 2011.

British associations and clubs in Paris

British associations and clubs in Paris

Our handy guide to the British community in Paris, from cricket clubs to Scottish country dancing lessons to where to find a jar of Marmite.

Anglophone services in France

Anglophone services in France

Here's a short introduction to our Banking section for those living in France, from how to open a bank account to Islamic banking and investments.