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Nearly a decade of Chipotle marketing is at the centre of a likeness theft lawsuit

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

January 11, 2017 | 2 min read

Chipotle is on the receiving end of a lawsuit that could cost it $2.2bn – all for the alleged unauthorized use of the litigant, Leah Caldwell’s likeness on marketing materials over a period of almost ten years.

Chipotle's Scarecrow mascot - unaffiliated with the lawsuit

Chipotle's Scarecrow mascot - unaffiliated with the lawsuit

A lawsuit filed to a California District Court states that a doctored image of Caldwell, taken in 2006, came to her attention in 2014 when she found the picture on the walls of several California outlets. The image was reportedly heavily doctored, to give the impression the outlet was busier, with Chipotle products added to the scene.

Caldwell claims she was approached by “a tall, bearded Caucasian man… who asked [her] to sign a release for some pictures he had taken. [She refused to sign].

She pursues the $2.2bn in company profit, attributing it to the sustained unauthorized use of her likeness, the actual damages for the action sits at a meagre $750. With the case she also seeks a cease and desist action upon the material which shows her dining in the restaurant, the image shot externally with a long lens.

The original image in question is featured in the final page of the lawsuit document here.

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