The court decided to recover 250,000 euros in favor of Eastwood from the owner and manager of the now liquidated Lithuanian company “Mediatonas” Giedrjus Bučinska.
The court said that the Hollywood actor is also entitled to interest payments and a proportionate payment of legal costs.
As the court concluded, “Mediatons” unlawfully used Eastwood’s name, likeness and fame in an advertising campaign for CBD products by publishing articles without the actor’s consent.
The court recognized the actions of “Mediatona” and its manager as unfair and concluded that the liquidation of the company was an attempt to avoid responsibility for illegal activities.
In 2021, the US court ordered “Mediatonas” to pay Eastwood’s company “Garrapata” 6.1 million US dollars (5.26 million euros) for using the Hollywood star’s name and likeness to create the impression that he was promoting its products
As Mediatonas was liquidated, Eastwood and Garrapata sought to recover €5.27 million from Buczynski personally, insisting that he liquidated the company to avoid compensation.
The court in Lithuania concluded that Bučinskis was aware of the court proceedings in the USA both before and during the liquidation of the company and this encouraged him to liquidate a successful and profitable company.
The court noted that Buczynski had no reason to doubt that the court would grant Eastwood’s claims, at least in part.
Regarding the amount of damages, the Klaipėda court based its decision on Lithuanian legislation, concluding that the company’s manager had violated the provisions of advertising and image rights. Factors that increased the amount of damages included the willful nature of the infringement, the widespread dissemination of unauthorized information, and the defendant’s denial of wrongdoing. However, mitigating factors included the time that had passed since the offenses were committed and Buczynski’s financial inability to pay the amount ordered by the US court.
This was the second time the Klaipėda District Court heard this case. Initially, the court rejected the claims of Eastwood and “Garrapat” on the basis that their status as creditors of “Mediaton” was not proven. The actor and his company then demanded damages of 50,000 euros.
The Court of Appeal of Lithuania sent the case to the court of first instance for re-examination.
The actor and his representatives told the court that they want to recover 50,000 euros from Bučinskas for his decision to liquidate “Mediatonas”, because this way they lose the opportunity to receive the compensation awarded by the US court.
In October 2021, a federal court in Los Angeles ordered “Mediatonas” to pay Eastwood and “Garrapata” 6.1 million US dollars (5.26 million euros) in compensation.
In March 2021, the liquidation process of “Mediaton” was started. “Garrapata” announced that it had informed the Lithuanian company about its claims related to the illegal use of Eastwood’s image in February of this year.
Founded in 2017, “Mediatonas” was registered in Dauglauki, Tauragė district, and was engaged in website development.
The company’s financial statements show that it had no long-term assets at the end of 2020 and in previous years. In 2020, its revenue was 4.425 million euros and the net profit was 524,800 euros, which compared to 2019 was 44.7% and 85.2% more, respectively.
In 2020, Eastwood filed two lawsuits in a Los Angeles court against three manufacturers and advertisers of the hemp product cannabidiol (CBD), whose products were mentioned in an article published on the Internet that claimed he supported the use of hemp products. Eastwood also sued ten Internet marketing companies, accusing them of manipulating Internet search results using his name.
One of the claims states that the publication presented a fake interview, designed as NBC’s “Today” program, illustrated with an authentic photo of Eastwood actually participating in the NBS program in question, and supplemented with instructions on how to buy the advertised cannabis products.