Lidl-Trek rider Mads Pedersen and eleven other athletes have filed a lawsuit against streaming service HBO Max and its parent company, HBO Nordic, demanding a combined 267,600 euros in compensation for the unauthorized commercial use of their images during the 2024 Olympic Games.
Danish Cyclist Appears in Court Over Commercial Image Rights
Mads Pedersen appeared via video link before a Danish court on Monday to testify that his photographs and likeness were exploited for promotional purposes without his consent or financial compensation. According to reports from Ekstra Bladet, the legal battle centers on the blurred lines between legitimate sports journalism and commercial advertising. Pedersen argued that utilizing his image to promote a commercial product directly harms his own business prospects, as he routinely sells his name and likeness to corporate sponsors for targeted campaigns.
“It is difficult to sell my name and image to others if they are used for free,” Pedersen stated during the court proceedings. The former world champion’s individual claim amounts to roughly 20,070 euros as part of the broader multi-athlete legal action.
Athletes Across Disciplines Target HBO Nordic
Pedersen is not alone in the dispute. The lawsuit encompasses twelve athletes representing a range of sports disciplines, including cycling, handball, badminton, and golf. Court filings indicate that the contested imagery appeared across HBO Max websites and official social media channels during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The athletes also state that promotional photographs turned up on digital advertising banners across various external websites as well as on a physical advertising display located in Copenhagen.
The collective legal action seeks a total payout of approximately 267,600 euros. The claimants have established a baseline valuation of about 6,690 euros for every individual instance a photograph was utilized without authorization.
Streaming Service Defends Editorial Use of Content
Legal representatives for HBO Max contested the claims in court, arguing that the athletes are not automatically entitled to financial compensation for the use of event imagery. The streaming platform maintains that the photos and videos fall squarely within an editorial context surrounding major athletic competitions. Under this defense, HBO Max asserts it possessed the legal right to distribute imagery captured during prior sporting events.
The Danish court must now determine whether the platform’s deployment of the athletes’ likenesses crossed the threshold from standard news reporting into unauthorized commercial exploitation.
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