In the current booming "traffic economy", the portrait rights of internet celebrity bloggers have become an "intangible asset" with significant commercial value. Does the act of a merchant using retouching techniques to synthesize clothing images beyond the scope of the contract onto the portraits of internet celebrities and bloggers, and using the synthesized images for online store promotion constitute infringement? What legal responsibilities should be borne? Recently, the People's Court of Lusong District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province concluded the portrait rights dispute case and ruled that the defendant, an e-commerce company, should apologize to the plaintiff Wang and compensate for economic losses. Wang is a Xiaohongshu blogger with 18000 followers, and his daily sharing content mainly focuses on personal clothing. In June 2022, an e-commerce company in Zhuzhou proactively contacted Wang to discuss cooperation matters. The two parties communicated through WeChat and agreed that the company would send a couple T-shirt set to Wang. Wang would wear it and take photos, which would be delivered for advertising purposes. The fee range is 700 to 800 yuan per group, with 5 to 10 photos per group. After receiving the photos, a certain e-commerce company used them as promotional images for multiple couple T-shirt sets in its online store "Mr. XXX Flagship Store". Later, Wang discovered that the company had made secondary modifications to the photos by using photo editing techniques to synthesize Wang's image onto other styles of clothing (which Wang had not actually photographed). The resulting 116 images were used to promote multiple products in the store. Wang believes that the company's use of photos beyond the scope of the contract has infringed upon his portrait rights, and therefore filed a lawsuit with the court, demanding the removal of the link to the infringing photos, compensation of 2 million yuan, and an apology statement to eliminate the impact. After the court trial, it was found that the defendant, without authorization, modified the plaintiff's photo and used it for commercial promotion of online store products, which infringed on the plaintiff's right to portrait and should bear corresponding responsibilities. In this case, the defendant immediately deleted the plaintiff's photo upon receiving the complaint, and the plaintiff did not raise any objections to this. The plaintiff also did not submit evidence to prove the fact that the defendant continued to use the photo. According to Article 1182 of the Civil Code of the People's Republic of China, "If the infringement of the personal rights and interests of others causes property losses, compensation shall be made according to the losses suffered by the victim or the benefits obtained by the infringer as a result; if it is difficult to determine the losses suffered by the victim and the benefits obtained by the infringer as a result, and the victim and infringer cannot reach an agreement on the amount of compensation and file a lawsuit with the people's court, the people's court shall determine the amount of compensation based on the actual situation." The plaintiff did not provide effective evidence to prove the amount of losses caused by the defendant's infringement and the benefits obtained by the defendant due to the infringement in this case. Therefore, the court, taking into account factors such as the plaintiff's popularity and influence, as well as the number, purpose, and potential benefits of the defendant's use of the modified plaintiff's photos, has determined at its discretion that the plaintiff's economic loss is 25000 yuan (including reasonable litigation costs). The defendant's unauthorized use of modified photos of the plaintiff in their online store constitutes infringement. Considering the plaintiff's popularity and influence, and taking into account the defendant's infringement methods and intentions, the court supports the plaintiff's request for a public apology. In summary, the court ruled that the defendant, an e-commerce company, issued an apology statement for 15 consecutive days in a prominent position on the homepage of its online store "Mr. XXX Flagship Store"; Compensate the plaintiff Wang for economic losses of 25000 yuan. The verdict in this case has now come into effect. In the digital age, portrait rights are not only personality rights protected by law, but also digital assets that can create value. The right to portrait belongs to individuals in accordance with the law. Without explicit authorization, no organization or individual may use another person's portrait for profit, whether directly using the original image or through technical means such as photo editing, face swapping, synthesis, etc. The right holder has the right to decide on the use, scope, and duration of their own portrait. Given the characteristics of electronic evidence being easily lost and tampered with, when the right holder discovers that their portrait rights have been infringed, they should immediately use reliable methods such as recording screens, screenshots, or notarized preservation as fixed evidence. When determining the amount of compensation for infringement, the court needs to make a comprehensive judgment based on specific evidence, such as the scope and duration of the infringement, the benefits of the infringer, or the actual losses of the rights holder. If there is insufficient evidence to support it, the relevant claims will be difficult to obtain full court support. Operators should firmly establish the awareness of the rule of "authorization first, use later". Before using someone else's portrait, they must clearly obtain the authorization of the right holder through signing a written agreement or other means, and make clear agreements on the scope, duration, and method of use. Prudentially fulfill the obligation of review, avoid using materials with unclear sources or rights, eliminate infringement from the source, and prevent potential legal and business risks. (New Society)