Samsung is not new to facing sues, but this time it is not from its rival, Apple. Brazilian football legend Pele is now suing the South Korean electronics giant Samsung, after claiming that the firm improperly used a lookalike in an advertisement.
Pele, 75, whose full name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento, is considered by many to be the best player of all time and he has played for Brazil’s victorious World Cup winning teams of 1958 and 1970, scoring in both finals, and was in the squad which won in 1962.
He now alleges that Samsung ran the advertisement for ultra high-definition televisions in the New York Times without his permission. It is to be noted that this was done after he had broken off negotiations in 2013 to use his image to promote its goods. According to the complaint, the ad – which does not name Pele – includes a facial photo of a man who “very closely resembles” him, and also a small picture of a footballer making a “modified bicycle or scissors kick,perfected and famously used by Pele”.
The complaint also says that the Samsung advertisement will damage the value of his endorsement rights and mislead consumers into thinking he backs Samsung products.He is claiming at least $30m (£21m), according to legal papers lodged at the US District Court in Chicago and his legal team also says that they also want to prevent future unapproved uses of his image.
The lawsuit was filed by Pele IP Ownership LLC, which owns the former player’s trademark and publicity rights with lawyer Frederick Sperling who has also represented for the former Chicago Bulls basketball star Michael Jordan.He helped him win a case against the former Dominick’s Finer Foods over an unauthorised use of his identity in an advertisement in Sports Illustrated magazine and Pele’s team hopes the same in this case.
