Friday 28th August, 11:00 AM JST From >
TOKYO — Japanese pop music duo Pink Lady, known for a series of 1970s megahits, lost an appeal Thursday for compensation over a 2007 magazine article that they argue used their pictures without permission.
The Intellectual Property High Court upheld a lower court decision that rejected the claim by Keiko Masuda and Mie that Kobunsha Co infringed on their publicity rights in the women’s magazine article on how to control weight by dancing to their tunes.
Presiding Judge Takaomi Takizawa said the article was intended foremost to recommend that readers control their weight by ‘‘dancing in the same way as Pink Lady, whose choreography became a social phenomenon.’’
‘‘The pictures were used only to inspire readers to evoke their memories,’’ the judge said. ‘‘So it cannot be said that the duo’s rights to exclusive control of their names and images were infringed upon beyond the tolerance level they have to accept as celebrities.’’
According to the latest ruling, 14 Pink Lady pictures were used in the article published in Josei Jishin magazine in February 2007, which featured the choreography for five of their hits, including ‘‘Nagisa-no-Sinbad’’ and ‘‘UFO.’’
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