A Nursery schoolteacher in California has become an instant multimillionaire after recognising himself on a jar of Nestcafé.

It all started when a woman is a shopping market queue leant over and said to Russell Christoff, "You look like the guy on my coffee jar."

A few weeks later Russell Christoff came face to face with himself on a jar of Taster’s Choice Coffee: American version of Nestcafé.

It transpires that Mr Christoff spent years working as a model and actor. In 1986, Mr Christoff did a photo shoot for Nestle. Unknown to him Nestle was using his face on popular labels in the Untied States, Israel, Japan, Kuwait, Mexico and South Korea for about six years.

Luckily for Mr Christoff’s old modelling contract entitled him to $2,000 fee if his image was used. Nestle offered to settle for $100,000 on the basis that Mr Christoff was an employee and that it was entitled to use the photo. But Mr Christoff sued for $8.5 million. A jury in Los Angeles County Superior Court ruled that Mr Christoff is entitled to $330,000 for the use of the photo plus 5% of the profit from Taster’s Choice Sales from 1997 – 2003.

‘The image was used not only on jars but on posters, coupons and even a screwdriver’.

If you’re a small business owner who use images on your advertising material and products always question their source and whether they are subject to copyright laws. Failure to question could cost you dearly, as in the ‘Nestlé case’.

David
Small Business Resource

Based on article published in The Times, Wednesday, February 2, 2005