Dua Lipa asks judge to let Samsung TV box case proceed

Dua Lipa's lawyers have asked a federal judge to let her lawsuit against Samsung go ahead, after the company tried to have it thrown out.

The response was filed on Oct. 16 in the Central District of California, where the case was brought in May. It opposes Samsung's request for dismissal, a request to end a case before trial, and says the dispute should proceed to the next stage, Billboard reported.

The lawsuit centres on TV packaging. Lipa alleges Samsung put a copyrighted photo of her on the front of cardboard boxes used for televisions sold at retail, a claim also reported by Reuters. Her complaint says her face appeared on a significant portion of Samsung televisions sold in the United States during 2025 and 2026, and that she sent multiple cease-and-desist letters before suing. Court records list the case as Dua Lipa v. Samsung Electronics America Inc., No. 2:26-cv-05019, with copyright infringement entered as the cause of action.

The suit also includes a trademark infringement claim over the packaging, an allegation that unauthorised use of her image could mislead buyers about endorsement, according to Bloomberg Law. It seeks more than $15 million for the alleged unauthorised use, the New York Times reported in May.

Samsung does not deny using the photo. The company has said publicly it did so only after receiving explicit assurance from a content partner that permission had been secured.

Last month, Samsung asked the judge to dismiss the case. Its argument was that customers had not been tricked into thinking Lipa endorsed its televisions. It also argued she cannot sue over the commercial use of her face because she lives in England, which it said lacks protections for likeness rights, the legal control over commercial use of a person's identity.

Lipa's lawyers reject both points. They argue shoppers used to seeing her in paid brand partnerships could reasonably have taken the box image for another such deal. They also argue California's likeness laws should apply to the dispute, and that English law would also give her a right to sue.

A judge will now decide whether the case moves forward. No ruling on the dismissal request has been issued, and none of the claims about permission or endorsement has yet been tested at trial.