The Pink Lady Case
Japan Supreme Court
2009 (Ju) No. 2056, Minshu Vol. 66 No. 2 (2012)

- Written by Sarah Holley, JD
Facts
In the late 1970s, a female musical duo called “Pink Lady” (plaintiffs) became popular among diverse age groups ranging from small children to adults throughout Japan. The group was so popular, in fact, that it became a national fad to mimic the dance moves of their songs. In the late 2000s, a publisher of books and magazines, including a weekly magazine called Josei Jishin, (publisher) (defendant) published the weekly magazine with an article titled “Pink Lady de Diet” in which an entertainer explained a weight-loss method that utilized the dance moves of Pink Lady’s songs. The article used 14 photographs of Pink Lady to describe the diet and also related stories such as the entertainers’ childhood memories of mimicking the dance moves of their songs. The photographs were published in the magazine without Pink Lady’s consent. Pink Lady brought suit against the publisher for violation of their rights of publicity.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning ()
What to do next…
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,500 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.