Paris: A Paris court ruled on Tuesday that Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair must pay President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni a total of €60,001 ($88,975) for an advertisement featuring a photo of the couple.
Sarkozy and Bruni had filed separate lawsuits that were heard together in a court session in Paris, seeking damages for Ryanair's use of the image for commercial purposes without permission.
Sarkozy asked for a symbolic one euro in damages, which the court granted. The court ordered Ryanair to pay Bruni €60,000 ($88,974), less than the €500,000 ($741,450) that she had sought.
Sarkozy and Bruni, a long-time model, were married on Saturday. It is not the first time that Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, has used politicians' likenesses without permission.
The Irish company has used photos of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in past ads.
Last year, Ryanair reportedly settled a lawsuit filed by Sweden's ex-prime minister Goran Persson out of court after using his photo picture without his consent.
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