## Facts

- In the late 1970s, the female musical duo “Pink Lady” became widely popular throughout Japan, and it became a national fad for people to mimic the dance moves from their songs.
- Years later, a publisher that issued books and magazines (including the weekly magazine *Josei Jishin*) ran a feature article titled “Pink Lady de Diet.”
- The article presented a weight-loss method that used Pink Lady’s dance routines, with an entertainer explaining how to perform the movements.
- The article also included related narrative content, such as the entertainer’s childhood memories of copying Pink Lady’s dances.
- To accompany the feature, the magazine printed 14 photographs of Pink Lady.
- The publisher did not obtain Pink Lady’s consent to publish the photographs.
- Pink Lady sued the publisher seeking tort damages, alleging violation of their right of publicity based on the unauthorized use of their images.

## Issues

1. Does Japanese law recognize a right of publicity that protects the commercial value of a well-known performer’s name or likeness?
2. If so, did the magazine’s unauthorized use of 14 Pink Lady photographs in connection with the “Pink Lady de Diet” feature constitute an infringement of that right?

## Decision

- The Supreme Court recognized that Japanese law protects a right of publicity as a legally protected interest connected to personality rights, covering the commercial value of a person’s name and likeness.
- The Court held that the publisher’s unauthorized use of Pink Lady’s photographs in connection with the “Pink Lady de Diet” feature infringed Pink Lady’s right of publicity.
- The Court ruled in favor of Pink Lady on liability for infringement.

## Legal Principles

- A well-known person’s name, likeness, and image may have commercial value derived from the person’s fame and customer-drawing power, and that value can be protected as a right of publicity.
- Unauthorized commercial use of a person’s likeness that trades on the person’s fame—particularly where the likeness is used to advertise or market content, goods, or services—can infringe the right of publicity.
- In evaluating infringement, courts focus on whether the challenged use functions as a commercial exploitation of the individual’s popularity rather than merely identifying the person or conveying information.
- Use of multiple photographs of performers in connection with a feature that is presented as a vehicle to attract consumer attention through the performers’ fame may be treated as an unlawful invasion of the performers’ publicity interests.

## Conclusion

*Pink Lady v. [Publisher]* holds that Japan recognizes a right of publicity protecting the commercial value of a famous performer’s likeness, and that a magazine’s unauthorized use of numerous performer photographs in connection with a feature tied to a marketed diet method can constitute an actionable infringement of that right.


Pink Lady v. [Publisher], 2009 (Ju) No. 2056, 66 Minshu 2 (Sup. Ct. Japan 2012)