By Daniel Beekman | New York Daily News
Katherine Heigl carries her shopping bags as she leaves a Duane Reade drugstore with her mother in Tribeca.
Katherine Heigl says the “The Ugly Truth” is that Duane Reade violated her rights by tweeting and posting on Facebook a “paparazzi” photo of her leaving a New York City branch of the drugstore chain.
The 35-year-old “27 Dresses” and “Grey’s Anatomy” actress filed a lawsuit Wednesday in Manhattan Federal Court seeking more than $6 million in damages.
The lawsuit says Duane Reade on March 18 tweeted the photo of Heigl carrying two Duane Reade bags with the tagline, “Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore.”
Statement by Rose Law Group Attorney Chris Ingle:
“There is a fine line between reporting an event as news and attempting to use is as a product promotion. If someone had simply snapped the photo and tweeted that Kathryn Heigl shops at Duane Reade that is probably fine because the information was available to the public and the photo was captured in public. Unfortunately for Duane Reade, they appear to have crossed the line into product promotion. Their tweet attempts to use Katherine Heigl’s image to promote their company, which is not quite the same thing. Ordinarily Duane Reade would have had to pay for a celebrity endorsement, and it would only be able to contract with celebrities who were willing to associate their name and image with the company. It was absolutely improper to use Heigl’s likeness to promote their company without her knowledge or permission. My guess is that the person who runs their Twitter account was simply unfamiliar with the controlling law.”
“As more companies turn to Twitter to connect with their customer, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. All companies can do is try to learn from these mistakes and not repeat them. There have been several situations in the news recently where a poorly planned Tweet has landed a company in court. Businesses would do well to consult with an attorney and make sure their social media department knows exactly what they can and cannot do with the account. A little bit of prevention can save everyone a lot of time, money, and heartache later on.”
Statement by Rose Law Group Attorney Logan Elia:
“Generally, people have a right to control the commercial use of their own name or image. That right is obviously very valuable to celebrities. If you take and use someone’s image without permission, that is legally actionable in many states. This is hardly the first time it has happened. In 2009, Jennifer Lopez sued a stroller manufacturer for using a picture of her using their stroller. Cases like this are likely to settle out of court.”
