smiltena-istockphoto-com-moustache-
23 February 2017Copyright

Fake moustache sparks copyright lawsuit against AB InBev

An American woman who donned a fake moustache and drank from a bottle of beer has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch (AB) InBev.

Kayla Kraft filed the suit (pdf) at the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Eastern Division on Monday, February 20.

In the suit, Kraft argued that AB InBev infringed her copyright and violated her right of publicity.

AB InBev “misappropriated the commercial value of Kraft’s identity by using, without her consent, her likeness on promotional items distributed to the public for purposes of trade”, the suit said.

According to the suit, in 2013 Kraft put on a fake moustache and drank from a bottle of Natural Light beer, which AB InBev has sold in North Carolina, where Kraft lives, since 1977.

Kathryn Belasco, Kraft’s friend, pictured the moment on her smartphone.

In February 2013, Kraft posted the photo on Facebook, and in May last year, Belasco assigned all of her rights, including copyright, to Kraft.

In June 2016, Kraft registered the photo at the US Copyright Office.

The suit argued that AB InBev started a marketing campaign “several years ago” called “Every Natty Has a Story”, to promote the sales of the Natural Light product.

AB InBev allegedly “acquired a copy of the Kraft photograph through social media and used the Kraft photograph in the ‘Every Natty Has a Story’ campaign” without the consent of Belasco or Kraft.

The poster was displayed in bars, restaurants and retail outlets in North Carolina, the suit said.

Kraft asked for full damages, profits, enhanced damages, punitive damages for acts of wilful infringement, costs, attorneys’ fees and a jury trial.

Chelsea Phillips, director of value brands at AB InBev, told WIPR: "We take consumer privacy seriously. The photo was submitted to Natural Light’s Facebook page as part of Natty Rewards, a promotion where 21 plus Facebook users could earn rewards for submitting photos of themselves 'acting natural'. We believe the lawsuit has no merit and plan to defend against it."

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.

Already registered?

Login to your account

To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.

Two Weeks Free Trial

For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk