Carla Bruni Suing Over Use of Nude Image, Demanding $168,300 In Damages

French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is suing a fashion chain for selling bags emblazoned with nude images of her in the latest legal action over the presidential couple's image.

At a court hearing yesterday in the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, Bruni-Sarkozy's lawyer said the former model was demanding 125,000 euros ($168,300) in damages from local chain Pardon which sold the bags there for a few days.

"This little-known company is using the image of a famous person in a shocking way ... for media attention," Gesche Le Fur told the court in the island's capital, Saint Denis.

Bruni-Sarkozy, 40, rose to fame as a model before becoming a pop singer. Public interest in her has surged since her whirlwind romance with President Nicolas Sarkozy, whom she married in February less than three months after they met.

The couple have repeatedly gone to court over image issues, attracting criticism that they are too focused on trivial matters.

Continue reading on the Independent.

Comments

[Omidal]

06:51 PM on 12/16/2008

The first lady is a public figure and does not deserve compensati­on if people use her image. The only way she could get a cut from this business venture is if the picture was copyrighte­d by an agency. Imagine if public official could cash in on their image like the Celebritie­s, you would have more corruption­s and a lot of legal fight. It would certainly constraint the politician from doing their jobs.

[LevRoark]

02:12 PM on 12/16/2008

Hah! What a shower bag!

[johnnygoodwud]

01:03 PM on 12/16/2008

she's just upset she's not getting part of the action ($$$$)

[CeeCee]

01:59 PM on 12/16/2008

$$$: That's not the French way. You're thinking like an American.

[GeeBee]

06:20 PM on 12/16/2008

Exactly. She wants Euros. They are worth a bit more.

[fpie]

12:51 PM on 12/16/2008

Did she sign a release contract? If she was a profession­al model and was paid for the rights it doesn't seem that she has recourse. If the use of it doesn't comply with such a contract then the producer must cease and desist. The internatio­nal copright convention rules are uniform among the signitorie­s and I'm sure Fance is on that list. Then of course it IS France, the country that outlawed headscarve­s.
Imagine Lora Bush naked on a bag. EEEW!

[sugar20035]

02:25 PM on 12/16/2008

A release contract for what! This is an image of her from many yrs ago that's been manipulate­d for selling purposes.

What would the contract have stipulated­?..." This image may be used 20 yrs later by a company that doesnt exist yet, when you are no longer a model and are married to the President of France".

Pa-leeze.

If this teeny tiny store chain paid the photograph­er ( who, by the way, is the only person who has sole rights to the image), then there is no legal recourse. I highly doubt it and if that is the case then Carla could actually sue the photograph­er.

[irtrad17]

12:44 PM on 12/16/2008

It's not a very good likeness, I'm barely turned on by it and they seemed to have used a technique to hide the private parts. She is a public personalit­y now and I think her image is not protected, but I know nothing of French law.

[Bitsko]

12:26 PM on 12/16/2008

Poor poor powerless little thing.

[Ramirez]

12:11 PM on 12/16/2008

I gotta side with Ms Bruni on this one and it's not even a close call.

The use of her image is really tacky, invasive, and wrong.

[VivaZapata]

03:22 PM on 12/16/2008

i hate siding with ramirez on anything, but he and they are right for all the reasons he stated.