Britvic sued by owners of glamping cabin over image used in holiday competition
J2O maker Britvic is being sued for thousands in damages by the owners of a glamping cabin who claim that the company infringed their copyright by using images of the site as part of a competition.
Amanda and David Robinson run the Magic Mushroom Cabin on the grounds of their home in Dodford, Northamptonshire, which they rent out for short stays.
The pair have claimed in High Court documents that Britvic – which also makes Robinsons squash, Tango and other soft drinks – used a photo of the site without permission and without advertising it to promote a competition to win a “unique summer hangout”.
They are asking the court to declare that the company infringed copyright over the image and award them thousands of pounds in damages.
Britvic, which is yet to file a defence to the claim, has been approached for comment.
In the court documents, barrister John-Paul Tettmar-Saleh, for Mr and Mrs Robinson, claimed that Britvic ran the summer hangout competition between July and September last year.
He continued that between July and October last year, Britvic used an image of the cabin taken by Mrs Robinson in 2017 to promote the competition, including on its competitions page, the J2O Amazon store, and in online and in-store advertising.
But the barrister said that none of the advertisements credited Mr and Mrs Robinson, and was a “flagrant” infringement of copyright.
Mr Tettmar-Saleh also said that Britvic infringed copyright “having calculated that it would profit from the infringement”, and did so for around 90 days after receiving and acknowledging a complaint from Mr and Mrs Robinson about the use of the image.
He claimed that Mr and Mrs Robinson should be awarded £6,552 in damages for lost profits, as well as further damages to represent the fee they would have charged Britvic for permission to use the image.
He said: “The claimants’ brand is not naturally aligned with a large corporate multi-national manufacturer of sugary drinks.
“Therefore, the claimants would have carefully considered any proposed association with the defendant.
“As the brands do not align, the claimants would have demanded a high price for any association.”
A hearing in the claim is yet to take place.
Britvic, based in Hemel Hempstead, also holds an exclusive licence with US partner PepsiCo to make and sell brands such as Pepsi, 7Up and Lipton Ice Tea in the UK.
In January last year, the High Court approved a £3.3 billion takeover of the company by Danish brewery Carlsberg, which also owns brands including 1664 and Brooklyn.
Published: by Radio NewsHub