When is a fencing star not a fencing star? That seems to be the crux of an unusual court case in Shanghai, with 2004 Olympic fencing silver medallist Wang Lei filing a lawsuit against Volkswagen for allegedly using a masked image of himself in action for a sedan promotional ad.
Wang claims the picture, posted on giant ad boards promoting the Touran
car, was used without his permission, and is filing for RMB1.1m in
compensation. The suit, lodged at Shanghai Putuo District Court for
alleged violation of image rights, is against Volkswagen Shanghai, its
JV partner SAIC-Volkswagen Sales Co, and the ad agency Hangzhou
Shangguang Simei Advertising Co.
In its defence, Volkswagen has said that the identity of the pictured
fencer, who is wearing a mask, is unidentifiable, and that it is not
actually Wang in the photo. Witnesses for Wang reportedly said that the
pictured fencer is Wang because "he is a little fat for a fencer." The
case continues.
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When is a fencing star not a fencing star? That seems to be the crux of an unusual court case in Shanghai, with 2004 Olympic fencing silver medallist Wang Lei filing a lawsuit against Volkswagen for allegedly using a masked image of himself in action for a sedan promotional ad.
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