After School's Uee Sues a Cosmetic Surgeon for Illegal Use of Her Photos

After School member Uee recently sued a cosmetic surgeon for damages for using her photos without her permission, and won. Her legal representative said, “Our goal wasn’t the compensation, but to ring the bell against prevalent infringement upon publicity rights.”

An official at Sun and Partners, the law firm that represented Uee and other celebrities in publicity rights lawsuits, said to Star News, “Rather than focusing on the amount of compensation that the plaintiff receives, we want to point out the wrong of using photos without rights, and eliminate these instances. It’s true that with some plastic surgeons, among others, using celebrity photos illegally is fairly common. In order to protect the rights of celebrities who need to maintain their image, action needs to be taken.”

The Seoul Central District Court, in the recent case concerning Uee, ordered Doctor Jung to give 3,000,000 won (approx. $2,800) to Uee in compensation for damages.

The hospital director, Doctor Jung, advertising for the hospital, had posted on a blog in July of 2012 photos of Uee’s face and thighs, with the caption, “Uee’s diet. Uee was pretty in the beginning too, but her thigh and belly fat takes away from it.”

The court stated, “Regardless of the photos in question having already been released, it does not give Doctor Jung permission to use the photos in hospital advertisements. Completely separate from defamation, we acknowledge that this was a violation of publicity rights.”

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