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Join our events and workshops dedicated to educating the creative industry about IP protection. Our goal is to empower you with the knowledge to safeguard your creations, ensuring you can thrive and succeed.
Take control of your image rights
Current English law does not protect your image rights (also known as personality rights) in a standalone way, making it necessary for brands, individuals and organisations to seek a combination of legal methods to maximise the value of their imagery.
We are specialist IP lawyers with decades of experience in the field of image rights management. We act for many well-known organisations, celebrities and sportspeople, helping them to get the best deals, maximise the value of their imagery and retain brand value.
Our expert team can provide a variety of cost-effective, reliable services to suit your requirements, including licensing contracts, passing off claims, trade mark protection services and enforcing copyright in specific images that you own. Our personality and image rights team will work directly with the brand, merchandising, licensing, sponsorship and data protection teams to establish an image strategy that works for you.
Read on for more information about the services we can offer you and get in touch by filling in the form opposite for a free consultation.
Client Testimonial
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Prisha Cena
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John Devid
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Shreeyans Said
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Pranav Same
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Lucy John
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Mrs Balaji
How can we help?
Image Rights Management For New Celebrities, Influencers & Personal Brands
The internet has created many new celebrities and influencers with a sizeable personal brand, particularly on YouTube and Instagram. If you are one of these people it’s important to protect your brand at an early stage of development, especially with the viral nature of the web.
Our personality and image rights team works with many new celebrities, influencers and personal brands to establish an overall image rights strategy and help them maintain their reputation and generate income as the brand grows over time.
Licensing Contracts
To maximise the value of and protect your image rights, we will carefully define all licensing contracts. Our personality and image rights team will pay particular attention to the number of channels and ways in which your image or personality can be exploited — this may include voice, initials, team or squad numbers, or electronic, animated or computer-generated representations of a personal brand or celebrity.
Passing Off Claims
It is vital to ensure that you have a clause in any lucrative image rights contract that states you will take action against infringement to protect your brand’s position and investment. If you discover a company using your image without permission, we will pursue an action in passing off, working to demonstrate a significant enough loss to justify the claiming of damages.
Trade Mark Protection
A registered trade mark prevents the unauthorised use of words, phrases and images that are the same as or similar to their trade marks. Lawful Creators can help you trade mark specific brand assets and copyright specific images to prevent unauthorised use.
Why Choose Lawful Creators?
Our business is uniquely tailored to the needs of the creative industry, providing an innovative alternative to traditional legal services.
Unlike conventional firms, we specialize exclusively in protecting the intellectual property of creatives—artists, designers, writers, and entrepreneurs.
Our comprehensive range of services covers every aspect of IP, from information packs and contract templates to personalized 1:1 consultations and educational events.
We understand the unique challenges you face and offer customized solutions designed to safeguard your ideas and foster your growth.
Partner with us to benefit from our industry-specific expertise and dedicated support, ensuring your creations are protected and your creative journey is secure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I trade mark my YouTube channel?
Yes you can. Well, elements of it. Your YouTube channel (in fact any form of digital communication channel such as TikTok) is part of your brand, and the more it grows, the more important it is to protect the branding elements that define what your channel is about, such as channel name, logo and any slogans or catchphrases associated with your channel.
Examples of Trade marked YouTube channels include MrBeast, JackSepticEye and Pewdiepie. You don’t need to have millions of subscribers on your channel however, with the increasing monetisation opportunities on the platform (such as merchandising and sponsorships) it makes sense to protect your brand sooner rather than later.
How can I protect my/my clients likeness?
Image rights themselves are not a recognised concept in the UK as they may be in other countries. Instead, the UK has several separate laws under which a persons image can be protected.
One of which is ‘Passing off’, which can be claimed only if it can be demonstrated that the individual has significant goodwill or reputation associated with their image, that the unauthorised use of the image misled the public into believing that a product has been endorsed by the individual and that person suffered damages as a result.
Although difficult to meet all three, one of the most famous cases in the UK of a celebrity successfully defending their image via this method is in Rihanna v Arcadia [2013], where Topshop sold a T-shirt line with an image of Rihanna’s face on. The license for this image had been acquired from the photographer however not from Rihanna. The possible implication that she had endorsed the product, despite not doing so, combined with the obvious fact of her status and influence in the fashion world and the likelihood of reputational or financial damage as a result, saw her awarded a favourable judgement.
Cases like these, their rarity and innate complexity, demonstrate the need for an experienced intellectual property solicitor to assist in managing the rights of high profile individuals.
Other ways to protect an individuals likeness include privacy and data protection rights, defamation laws, trade marks and advertising regulations.
How can I use a photographers work for my brand?
The ownership of photographs (specifically the copyright) is usually held by the photographer, or in some situations, the agency they were representing at the time the photo was taken.
If you wish to use an image for your own purposes, permission must be granted from the copyright holder usually in the form of a license that details acceptable use and compensation (attribution and/or payment). This can be complicated by issues such as passing off laws that specifically grant brands or high profile individuals protection from misuse of their image, and model release forms, which must be secured to use a persons image in a commercial setting.
For guidance navigating the specifics of intellectual property licensing and images feel free to get in touch and we will get back to you to arrange a free discussion with one of our team.
Case Study
It often requires creative thinking for a business to get around a trade mark problem. For example, one of our clients wanted to secure a logo mark but found there was already a mark that would block their trade mark from being successfully registered.
In such situations, it’s possible to enter into a co-existence agreement with the owner of the blocking mark, so each side knows how the other will develop their business and avoid overlapping. However, in this case, the blocking mark was so close to our client’s mark that a co-existence agreement was impossible.
To resolve the issue, our trade mark lawyers searched for similar marks predating the blocking mark. We looked for trade marks similar to our client’s intended mark but owned by an individual or company that may consider selling to our client.
We eventually found a mark fitting the bill and approached the owner. We agreed on a deal suitable to both sides, and the owner even handed over the domain name associated with the mark as an extra.
With a creative, outside-the-box approach to solving the problem, our client secured a trade mark they were happy with.
Key Contacts for Image Rights
Lawful Creators’s specialist solicitors have been practising intellectual property law in the UK and Europe for over twenty-five years. Meet our team and see the faces behind our success stories.
Require Further Assistance?
Book a Consultation with our IP experts and get personalized advice tailored to your concerns. In just an hour, you’ll gain the insights and tools needed to protect your IP confidently. Walk away with a clear action plan and peace of mind.
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