Pop star Rihanna’s recent High Court ruling against Topshop provides a salutary lesson for any retailer seeking celebrity endorsement of their brand or products. The singer successfully sued the retailer for using her image on T-shirts without her permission, but even official endorsements can prove problematic.

Grocery retailers and food and drink brands are no strangers to celebrity-led marketing campaigns: examples include Sainsbury’s with David Beckham and Morrisons’ with Ant & Dec.

One of the risks with this type of deal is the celebrity ceasing to be associated with the sport, music act or TV series they are part of when the deal is originally done. When negotiating such a deal, it is therefore imperative to obtain protections to ensure that you get what you have paid for or, at least, that you can have some money back if you do not.

Similarly, the celebrity could fail to appear at the event they were contracted to appear in. They might do or say something that harms the retailer or brand, or endorse - directly or indirectly - a competitor. Conversely, a retailer or brand owner might discover that activation of its sponsorship rights in connection with a sporting or other event might be restricted or prevented by overriding arrangements between the event organiser and a competitor.

To counter these instances, it is important to obtain category exclusivity and a commitment from the celebrity that they will not endorse or promote any competitor. It is also critical to establish assurances that exercising the rights will not conflict with any third party arrangements.

Any agreement should also include provisions that entitle sponsors to gain money back if the celebrity fails to appear or breaches carefully defined provisions around conduct and competing endorsements.

With the desire for celebrity endorsement unlikely to diminish any time soon, it is essential to obtain a clear contractual arrangement. If things do go wrong with your celebrity, and you are without any form of recourse, the prospect of losing a court case to Rihanna may suddenly appear an attractive proposition by comparison.

Andy Brian is a retail expert at law firm Gordons

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