The Klaipėda District Court awarded Hollywood actor Clint Eastwood 250,000 euros in his claim against a now-liquidated Lithuanian company.
According to the court, Mediatonas, a company headed by the defendant Giedrius Bučinskas, had carried out an advertising campaign for cannabidiol (CBD) products, using Eastwood’s name and image without his consent.
These actions by the company and its director were dishonest and the liquidation of the company was an attempt to avoid liability for the illegal actions, the court ruled.
A US court awarded the actor and his company 5.27 million euros in damages for the unlawful use of his name and likeness by Mediatonas.
As the Lithuanian company was liquidated, the claimants sought damages from its former manager. The court found that Bučinskas was aware of the court proceedings in the US both before the decision to liquidate the company and throughout the liquidation procedure. It was this knowledge that led to the decision to liquidate a profitable company, the court ruled.
This is the second time the Klaipėda Regional Court has heard the case. In October last year, it dismissed the applications of Eastwood and Garrapata, the company that manages the rights to his images and likeness, because they failed to prove that they were the creditors of the liquidated Mediatonas.
In October 2021, the US District Court for the Central District of California ordered Mediatonas to pay 6.1 million US dollars for unlawful use of Eastwood’s likeness.
In 2021, Eastwood filed two lawsuits in the US court against three CBD manufacturers and marketers whose products were featured in an online article claiming that he endorsed CBD products.
According to the actor’s representatives, Mediatonas illegally used Eastwood’s likeness to manipulate online search results and create the impression that the actor had something to do with the company’s products.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
