Ryanair welcomes Warsaw ruling

Ryanair has welcomed the decision of the Regional court in Warsaw to dismiss a personal damages claim by ex-CEO of LOT, Mr Marek Mazur, following the use of his photograph in a humorous Ryanair advert in April 2007 about a then-topical news story about Mr Mazur’s dismissal from LOT - a story which was widely covered in the Polish media at the time.

The court found that Mr Mazur failed to demonstrate that he had suffered any damages as a result of Ryanair’s advert. The court found that as the CEO of Poland’s national airline Mr Mazur was a public figure and consequently his image enjoys a reduced level of protection. The court also ordered Mr Mazur to pay Ryanair’s legal costs.

Ryanair’s Daniel de Carvalho, said:

“We welcome this Polish court ruling which fully vindicates our belief that Mr Mazur did not suffer any damages from this topical advert at a time when he was embroiled in a widely publicised controversy surrounding his 38-day-long service as CEO of LOT. There was no basis for Mr Mazur’s claim that this humorous topical advert damaged his image.

“We welcome this finding which confirms that those in the public eye must be open to topical humour and that use of their image in such humorous adverts does not breach their rights or give rise to any damages”.