A 28-year-old hairdresser from Leeds has won a copyright case against an online clothing company that sold t-shirts featuring her face.
Melanie Armsden first discovered that her photograph had been printed on t-shirts sold by Shop Direct when one of her clients shared a photo of the product, commenting on the striking resemblance.
Ms Armsden said: “[The customer] said it reminded her of me and I was looking at it thinking, that is me.
“It took me totally off guard. Quite a lot of people have said I should take it as a compliment, but when I found out it was quite shocking.
“The idea that I could have been walking through town and seen someone wearing a t-shirt with my face on is pretty weird.”
Shop Direct – the UK retailer that sold the t-shirts – claimed that they were unaware of the issue until Ms Armsden contacted them.
In a statement, the company said: “We bought the items in good faith and as soon as the issue was brought to our attention we immediately removed them from sale.”
The image is thought to have been taken from the internet by the company’s India-based garment supplier, even though they did not get permission to reproduce it.
Ms Armsden threatened to take legal action against the company for breaching her copyright, but an out-of-court settlement was reached and the 267 remaining t-shirts have been handed over to her.
She has since taken the decision to sell the t-shirts, and the proceeds will be donated to the Little Princess Trust, a charity which gives real-hair wigs to children that have lost their hair through cancer and other medical conditions.