What Happens Without a Model Release?

A month ago, I came across an article about a lawsuit filed by a Greek man against the Swedish yogurt company Lindahls Mejeri. The reason for the lawsuit is the use of this colorful Greek man’s image on the yogurt packaging.

By the way, the claim amount is no less than 5 million euros. And the lawsuit wording is also intriguing: “for loss of face in Turkish yogurt”. The yogurt’s name is Turkisk Yoghurt.

Interestingly, Swedes have been enjoying this natural product labeled “Turkish Yogurt” with an image of a mustached Turk on a plastic bucket-style container for nearly ten years. In addition, five other natural dairy products featuring this colorful Greek man’s image have been launched and are popular for their excellent quality. Of course, the most popular product remains “Turkish Yogurt” which has been available on the shelves of almost all major Swedish stores.

This Greek man would have continued to live in blissful ignorance of his unusual popularity among residents of a Scandinavian country, had it not been for his good friend, Athanasios Varzanakos, who lives in Stockholm and recognized his close friend’s face on the label of a popular yogurt.

So, how did this Greek man from Delphi end up on a yogurt label? It turns out he loves wearing traditional clothing, taking care of his thick mustache, and tourists often photograph him privately as a keepsake of their stay in Greece. However, this Greek man never gave anyone permission to use these photos commercially.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes; I was shocked!” exclaimed Athanasios Varzanakos to visiting journalists. “Then I called Delphi and deeply upset my friend. He couldn’t understand how this happened.”

After this story appeared in the media, it sparked a wide public reaction in Greece, with people expressing outrage. The political factor also had a significant impact on this reaction, as relations between Turkey and Greece are quite tense.

In the end, it will be up to the lawyers of the manufacturing company and the stock photo agency to deal with the lawsuit filed by the distressed Greek man. However, Swedish lawyers still can’t understand from the 40-page lawsuit exactly what offended the mustached Greek: whether it was being called a Turk, or being used to advertise yogurt made in Sweden following a Turkish recipe, which he doesn’t like at all.

Representatives of Lindahls Mejeri have already stated that they purchased the photo officially from the stock photo agency IMS, from a trusted photographer’s portfolio. So, according to the dairy company’s statement, they redirect all claims to the stock photo agency. The stock agency, in turn, claims that the photographer provided all required documents.

But someone will still have to pay, right?! After all, 5 million euros is a considerable sum. It’s likely the lawyers will manage to reduce the amount, but still, some payment will probably be necessary. And a signed Model Release with the Greek man would be very useful right now. However, it seems that there isn’t one, given the commotion. If a Model Release had been in place, there would be no uproar at all.

So, once again, I remind you that a Model Release will help you avoid future expenses associated with lawsuits from dissatisfied models. Although filling it out takes precious time, in the long run, it will save you much more time and money.