Image Rights Lawyers & Solicitors
Your image, name and likeness can have significant personal and commercial value. At Panoramix IP, our specialist image rights lawyers help individuals and businesses protect, manage, license and enforce image rights in the UK and internationally.
Whether you are looking to protect a personal brand, put commercial agreements in place or take action over the unauthorised use of your image, we can help you understand your rights and the options available.
Protecting Your Image Rights
Image rights can relate to a wide range of recognisable characteristics, including your name, photograph, likeness, signature, voice, appearance, gestures and other elements of your identity.
These rights can be particularly important for athletes, performers, influencers, celebrities and other public figures whose name and likeness have commercial value. They are also relevant to businesses using an individual’s image as part of sponsorship, endorsement, advertising or licensing arrangements.
Having the appropriate legal protections and agreements in place can help you retain control over how your image is used and ensure its commercial value is properly protected. Our Image Rights Management service can help you put the right agreements and monitoring in place to manage these rights effectively.
Image Rights in the UK
Unlike some jurisdictions, the UK does not have a single standalone law providing an exclusive ‘image right’. Instead, the protection available will depend on the circumstances and can involve several different areas of law.
These may include copyright, trade mark protection, passing off, contractual rights, privacy and data protection.
For example, passing off may be relevant where someone’s image is used commercially in a way that falsely suggests they endorse or are associated with a particular product or business. Copyright may apply where a photograph or other protected image has been reproduced without the copyright owner’s permission.
Determining which rights apply can therefore be complex. Our UK image rights solicitors can assess your circumstances and advise on the most appropriate way to protect or enforce your rights.
Image Rights Licensing and Commercialisation
For public figures, athletes, influencers, performers and others with an established profile, image rights can become valuable commercial assets.
Licensing agreements can allow third parties to use a person’s name, image or likeness for agreed purposes, including advertising, sponsorships, endorsements and merchandise.
It is important that these agreements clearly establish what can be used, where it can be used, how long the arrangement will last and any restrictions or exclusivity provisions that apply.
Our image rights lawyers advise both individuals and businesses on negotiating, drafting and reviewing licensing contracts, helping ensure the commercial arrangement accurately reflects what has been agreed.
For individuals looking to take a wider approach to protecting and commercialising their identity, our Image Rights Management team can also advise on managing permitted uses, licences and potential unauthorised use.
Unauthorised Use of Your Image
If your photograph, name or likeness is being used without your permission, the legal options available will depend on the circumstances.
This could include the use of an image in advertising, on a website or social media, on merchandise or in a way that falsely suggests an endorsement or commercial association.
It is important to remember that being the person pictured in a photograph does not necessarily mean you own the copyright in that photograph. However, other legal rights may still apply to the way in which your image is being used.
For example, unauthorised reproduction of a protected photograph may raise issues of copyright infringement, while a misleading suggestion that you endorse a particular business or product may potentially involve passing off.
Our image rights solicitors can assess the use, identify the rights that may have been infringed and advise on the appropriate next steps. This could include seeking removal of the image, negotiating a commercial resolution or pursuing an IP dispute. Book a free 45-minute consultation with our team today to advise you on the best next steps.
Why Choose Panoramix IP?
Image rights can involve several overlapping areas of intellectual property and commercial law, which means there is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach.
As a specialist intellectual property law firm, Panoramix IP can help you understand the different rights available and develop a strategy that reflects both your legal position and commercial objectives.
We advise clients in the UK and internationally, from individuals looking to protect their personal brand to businesses entering into commercial image rights arrangements.
Client Testimonials
FAQs
Does the UK have 'image rights'?
Not as a single, standalone right the way some countries do. In the UK, your image, name and likeness are protected instead through a combination of tools — trade marks (for a name or signature), passing off (where your image is used to falsely suggest endorsement), copyright, data protection law and contract. It sounds patchwork, but used together these can give real protection. We help individuals and businesses build that protection deliberately rather than leaving it to chance.
How can I protect my name, image and likeness?
Practical steps include registering your name (and sometimes signature or a logo version of it) as trade marks, controlling how your image is used through well-drafted contracts and licences, relying on passing off against false endorsement, and using data-protection rights over your personal images. The right mix depends on whether you’re a public figure, a business or a brand built around a person. We’ll design a strategy that fits.
What is 'passing off' and how does it protect my image?
Passing off is a legal action against someone who misrepresents a connection with you — for instance using your image or name to imply you endorse a product when you don’t. To succeed you generally need to show you have goodwill or reputation, that there’s a misrepresentation, and that it causes damage. It’s a key tool for protecting image and endorsement value in the UK, and we advise on when and how to use it.
Can I control how my image is used commercially?
Yes — largely through contracts and licensing. If your image has commercial value (as it does for athletes, performers, founders and influencers), image-rights and endorsement agreements let you set exactly how, where and for how long your image can be used, and on what terms. Getting these agreements right protects both your reputation and your income. We draft and negotiate them, and step in if your image is used without permission.
Who owns the rights to a photograph of me?
Usually the photographer owns the copyright in a photograph, even though it’s of you — which surprises many people. That’s why usage rights need to be dealt with by contract: a commissioning or licensing agreement can secure the rights you need to use images of yourself. If images of you are being used commercially without permission, you may also have passing-off or data-protection routes. We can advise on your specific situation.
Our Case Studies
Case Study: Wow Hydrate
Case Study: Escape Fitness
Case Study: British American Tobacco
Case Study: Cambridge Mechatronics
Case Study: Lincoln City Football Club
Case Study: The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys
