Source: OT-Team(G), 人民网; 红网
On October 24, the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court released a series of landmark cases on the protection of personality rights. Among them was a notable case involving the posthumous personality rights of world-renowned actress Audrey Hepburn.
According to the court, Hepburn, who passed away on January 20, 1993, had her name and image used without authorization by a restaurant company established in 2004. Since 2014, the company had operated under the name "Angel's Hepburn Time Restaurant", using Hepburn's name and likeness across its venues, official website, and WeChat account for commercial promotion.
Hepburn's son, Luca Dotti, filed a lawsuit, claiming that the company's actions violated his mother's human dignity and caused both emotional distress and financial loss to her family. He requested that the restaurant cease using Hepburn's name and image, issue a public apology, and pay damages of 1 million yuan plus additional legal costs.
During the trial, the restaurant stopped using Hepburn's portrait but continued to use her name. It argued that Hepburn's personality rights expired upon her death, that her son lacked standing to sue, and that the use of the name "Hepburn" was legitimate and not defamatory.
The Suzhou Industrial Park People's Court ruled in the first instance that the restaurant must immediately stop using the name "Audrey Hepburn," issue an apology to Luca Dotti, and pay 200,000 yuan in compensation. The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court upheld the ruling on appeal. The final judgment affirmed that a deceased person's name and likeness remain protected under Chinese law, and that their close relatives can inherit such economic interests.
"We are pleased with the outcome," said Sean Hepburn Ferrer, Hepburn's eldest son, on October 27. "We don't want to suppress people's admiration for Ms. Audrey Hepburn, but we do want to ensure quality control over any products or services associated with her image."
Sean added humorously, "This restaurant wasn't created out of love for my mother — perhaps their food wasn't good enough, so they tried another way to attract attention."
He emphasized, "It's not about stopping people from expressing love for her. It's about maintaining the quality of anything linked to her image. Without proper control, uncontrolled use could lead to poor-quality products, which is what we fear the most."
Judicial Commentary
The court explained that a deceased person's name and likeness are part of their personality interests and remain legally protected. The economic value attached to these rights can be inherited by close relatives. Luca Dotti, as Hepburn's son, was therefore qualified to bring the case.
Although the restaurant's use of Hepburn's name and image did not amount to insult or defamation, its extensive commercial use without authorization could mislead the public into believing a false association with Hepburn. This constituted an infringement of her posthumous personality rights.
Even though the company had ceased using Hepburn's portrait, its long-term use of the name "Hepburn" continued to have influence among consumers. Given linguistic and cultural habits, the Chinese public closely associates the name "Hepburn" with Audrey Hepburn, making continued use an infringement.
The court concluded that this case serves as a model precedent for protecting the posthumous personality rights of public figures. The ruling underscores that the dignity and economic value tied to a celebrity's name and image do not vanish upon death. Protecting such rights not only safeguards the interests of their families but also reflects the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China's strong emphasis on human dignity.
The court also reminded businesses that using a celebrity's name or likeness in commercial promotion requires proper authorization, and that attempts to "free-ride" on public figures' reputations constitute unfair competition.
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