Actor Clint Eastwood and the company that owns the rights to his likeness won a $6.1 million in a lawsuit Friday against a company in Lithuania that allegedly used his image to imply he supports their products.
R. Gary Klausner of U.S. District Court for the Central District of California awarded Eastwood and the company Garrapata $6 million for unauthorized use of his name and likeness after Mediatonas UAB did not respond to a summons from March, and they also had to pay approximately $95,000 in attorneys’ fees, according to The New York Times.
The company is also blocked from ever using his name and likeness again.
Eastwood filed two lawsuits last year in federal court against three manufacturers and marketers of CBD, short for cannabidiol, which is a part of the cannabis plant that does not lead to a high. The first lawsuit claimed his likeness was used in an interview falsely designed to look like an episode of the “Today” show, which linked to a site where viewers could buy the CBD-related products.
“Mr. Eastwood has no connection of any kind whatsoever to any CBD products and never gave such an interview,” according to the lawsuit.
Jordan Susman, Eastwood’s lawyer, said in a statement: “In pursuing this case, and obtaining this judgment, Mr. Eastwood has again demonstrated a willingness to confront wrongdoing and hold accountable those who try to illegally profit off his name, likeness, and goodwill.”
“It requires additional context to understand what CBD products are and why a person like Clint Eastwood would not endorse a marijuana-based product,” wrote Klausner, who did not grant the lawsuit’s full request for defamation because it was not “libelous on its face.”
