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The Margin: Forever 21’s use of an Ariana Grande look-alike could cost the retailer $10 million

The pop star filed a lawsuit that claims the retailer “stole” her likeness to sell clothes. Read More...

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery — or a possible case of false endorsement, plus trade and copyright infringement.

Pop star Ariana Grande is suing Forever 21 for $10 million over claims that it used photos of her and scenes from her “Thank U, Next” music video on its social-media pages without her permission, Reuters reported, as well as putting up pictures of a model styled to look “strikingly similar” to her in set pieces that closely mimicked her “7 Rings” video.

The suit filed Monday in federal court in Los Angeles claims that the retailer approached Grande’s representatives about a social-media collaboration after her single “Thank U, Next” became a hit last November, but the joint marketing campaign fell through because Forever 21 wasn’t willing to meet the Grande team’s payment demand. And so the lawsuit alleges that the clothing company and the Riley Rose spinoff beauty brand “stole” the Grammy Award winner’s “name, likeness and other intellectual property to promote their brands for free.”

An example from the suit.

The lawsuit features side-by-side screen shots from Forever 21’s Instagram account, and stills from Grande’s music “7 Rings” music video to make its case. The retailer’s images depict a brunette model wearing a slicked-back ponytail very similar to Grande’s signature hairstyle who sports outfits and accessories that closely resemble what the singer wore in her “7 Rings” video. One snap on Forever 21’s Instagram account shows the model standing before numeral that is almost identical to the “7” in the “7 Rings” logo. And a caption under one of the contested Forever 21 posts includes the “7 Rings” lyric, “Gee thanks, just bought it.”

“The resemblance is uncanny and Forever 21’s intent was clear: to suggest to the viewing public that Ms. Grande endorsed Forever 21, its products, and was affiliated with Forever 21,” the lawsuit says.

An example from the suit.

A single Ariana Grande social-media post is worth “well into the six figures,” the suit adds, noting that she counts more than 160 million Instagram followers and 64 million Twitter TWTR, +2.65% followers. Indeed, the HopperHQ.com Instagram Rich List recently ranked Grande, 26, as its second-highest earner, calling her able to command $966,000 per post.

Related: Kylie Jenner can make more money in one Instagram post than many people earn in a lifetime

The suit also takes issue with some Forever 21 Instagram posts that featured stills from “Thank U, Next” and photos of Grande, which were allegedly posted without the artist’s permission. It also claims that Grande’s team called on the retailer to remove the posts beginning in February, but some stayed up until at least April 17. The contested posts named in the lawsuit now appear to have been taken down off of Forever 21’s Instagram, Twitter and Facebook pages.

Forever 21 shared the following statement with MarketWatch by email: “Forever 21 does not comment on pending litigation as per company policy. That said, while we dispute the allegations, we are huge supporters of Ariana Grande and have worked with her licensing company over the past two years. We are hopeful that we will find a mutually agreeable resolution and can continue to work together in the future.”

Related: Why Ariana Grande’s new song is hitting home with millennials worried about their finances

Judge Andrew Napolitano told Fox Business (which shares common ownership with MarketWatch) that Grande is making a “very legitimate” argument. “If this case is not settled, a jury in Los Angeles will be looking at the same pictures we’re now looking at and saying, ‘Aren’t they confusingly similar?’ ” he said. “The law is that Forever 21 or anybody can’t just take Ariana Grande’s image and duplicate it or nearly duplicate it in order to sell something without getting a licensing fee.”

And there’s precedent to support the artist. In July, Kim Kardashian received $2.7 million in damages from the fast-fashion company Missguided USA, which she accused of copying her outfits and using her name to sell clothes.

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