Celebrity Image Rights in China: What Happens When Your Face Appears on a Product Without Permission
Celebrity Image Rights in China: When Your Face Becomes Someone Else’s Product
Real cases, real compensation — and what China’s unique personality rights framework means for celebrities, influencers, and brands.
A Celebrity Finds His Face on Tmall
A well-known Chinese entertainer — a television personality with a large following — discovered his photographs being used without permission to sell products on Tmall and Pinduoduo. His image appeared in product listings, promotional banners, and storefronts. The sellers had never contacted him, never sought consent, and never paid a licensing fee. They simply downloaded his photos from the internet and pasted them onto their product pages to boost sales.
He sued.
This scenario plays out thousands of times a year on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Celebrities, influencers, and even ordinary individuals find their photographs and names used to endorse products they have never seen. China’s legal framework for addressing this — the personality rights provisions in the Civil Code — is unique among major jurisdictions and, in some respects, provides stronger protection than common law privacy torts.
China’s Civil Code: A Separate Chapter for Personality Rights
In January 2021, China’s Civil Code took effect, and it did something no other major civil law code had done: it devoted an entire book — Book IV, Articles 990 through 1039 — to personality rights (人格权). This was a legislative innovation. Neither the German BGB, the French Code Civil, nor the Japanese Civil Code has a standalone personality rights book.
The Civil Code protects four categories of personality rights relevant to image misuse:
1. Right to Portrait (肖像权) — Article 1018-1022
Article 1019 is the core provision: “No person may infringe upon another person’s right to portrait by vilifying, defacing, or using information technology means to forge another person’s portrait. Without the consent of the person owning the right to portrait, the portrait of that person shall not be produced, used, or disclosed, unless otherwise provided by law.”
Unlike common law jurisdictions where the “right of publicity” is primarily an economic right, China’s right to portrait is a personality right — it protects both economic interests and personal dignity. Damages can be awarded for both economic loss and emotional distress (mental anguish compensation, 精神损害抚慰金).
2. Right to Name (姓名权) — Articles 1012-1017
Using a celebrity’s name — or a close variant — to promote products without consent is a direct violation. Article 1014 specifically addresses the use of another’s name in a manner that causes public confusion.
3. Right to Reputation (名誉权) — Articles 1024-1031
If the unauthorized use places the person in a false light or damages their reputation — for example, using a celebrity’s image to endorse a low-quality or fraudulent product — the right to reputation provides a separate cause of action.
4. Right to Privacy (隐私权) — Articles 1032-1039
The Civil Code also strengthened privacy protections, which can be relevant when private photographs — as opposed to publicly available promotional images — are misused.
The E-Commerce Enforcement Playbook
In the cases we handled, the enforcement strategy had three tracks:
Track 1: Platform Takedown. Chinese e-commerce platforms have IP and rights protection portals. For personality rights violations, the process is similar to a copyright takedown: the rights holder (or their counsel) submits a complaint with evidence of the violation, and the platform removes the infringing listing — typically within 3-7 working days. The key is submitting the right evidence: proof of identity, proof that the image depicts the rights holder, and screenshots of the unauthorized use.
Track 2: Evidence Preservation. Before filing a takedown — and certainly before filing a lawsuit — evidence must be preserved in court-admissible form. For our cases, we used trusted timestamp (可信时间戳) certification. This blockchain-based timestamping service captures web pages, product listings, and transaction records in a format that Chinese courts accept. Cost: RMB 10-30 per certification. For higher-value cases, we used notarized screen captures — more expensive but essentially unassailable.
Track 3: Civil Litigation. When the infringement is commercial in nature — the seller is using the image to generate sales — civil litigation can recover damages. Under Article 1182 of the Civil Code, damages for personality rights infringement are calculated based on: (a) the actual losses suffered by the rights holder, (b) the profits obtained by the infringer, or (c) where neither can be determined, the court’s discretionary award based on the circumstances of the case.
What Courts Actually Award
Based on our caseload and published judgments, compensation in image rights cases typically falls in the range of RMB 5,000 to RMB 50,000 per infringement, with higher awards where:
- The infringement was commercial in nature and at scale (e.g., a Tmall flagship store, not a small Taobao shop).
- The defendant ignored a pre-suit cease-and-desist letter.
- The product was of low quality or fraudulent, causing reputational harm.
- The plaintiff is a well-known figure whose image has established commercial value.
- The defendant profited significantly from the unauthorized use.
In addition to economic damages, Chinese courts can and do award mental anguish compensation (精神损害抚慰金) for personality rights violations. This is a concept that does not exist in most common law privacy torts, and it reflects the dual economic-dignitary nature of personality rights under Chinese law.
Courts will also order the defendant to: cease the infringement, issue a public apology (often on the platform where the infringement occurred), and eliminate the adverse effects. The public apology remedy — while not a monetary award — can be as damaging to a commercial seller as a fine.
Practical Takeaways for Foreign Celebrities, Influencers, and Brands
- Your rights exist even if you are not Chinese. The Civil Code’s personality rights protections apply to natural persons — the nationality of the right holder is not a limitation. If a foreign celebrity’s image is misused on Chinese e-commerce platforms, the same Civil Code provisions apply. The jurisdictional challenge — establishing that a Chinese court has jurisdiction over a dispute involving a foreign plaintiff — is generally satisfied if the defendant is domiciled in China or the infringing act occurred in China.
- Pre-register your trademark and image rights. While personality rights do not require registration, a registered trademark depicting your image or name gives you an additional enforcement tool — and trademark infringement claims can be easier to prove and faster to resolve through platform IP portals.
- Monitor Chinese e-commerce platforms proactively. Taobao, Tmall, JD.com, Pinduoduo, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu (Little Red Book) should be searched periodically for unauthorized use of your name or image. Many infringements are discovered by fans or followers who report them to the celebrity’s management. A formal monitoring program is better.
- Preserve evidence before sending a demand letter. Once the infringer knows you are aware of the violation, infringing listings can disappear overnight. Preserve evidence first, send the demand letter second.
- Engage Chinese counsel before the infringement happens. Have a law firm on retainer who can act within hours of discovering an infringement. The speed of response — not the strength of the legal claim — is often the determining factor in whether an infringing listing is removed before it causes real damage.
Conclusion
China’s personality rights framework — a standalone book in the Civil Code — is a legislative statement: in the world’s largest e-commerce market, personal identity has legal value. For celebrities, influencers, and brand founders entering or selling into China, that framework is both a shield and a sword. Use it proactively, and it protects your most valuable asset — your face and your name. Ignore it, and someone will monetize both without your permission.
This article is based on the author’s experience handling personality rights infringement cases on Chinese e-commerce platforms. Client identities and non-public case details have been omitted. It is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified PRC counsel.
Author: Jianxing Pan
Partner, Beijing ChangAn Law Firm
Offices in Beijing and Shenzhen
lawyerpan@vip.163.com