Is it illegal to use L'oreal's picture on my new opened salon's flyer?

Question

SORRY FOR ALL CAP LETTERS, SOMETHING WRONG WITH MY PC.
I HAVE OPENED MY OWN SALON LATELY, I PRINTED OUT FLYERS WITH PHOTO OF L'OREAL'S HAIR MODEL.
I DID NOT DISTRIBUTE THEM YET. I'M AFRAID THAT L'OREAL COMPANY WILL SUE ME FOR ILLEGAL USE OF THEIR PICTURE. BUT I DO SALE THEIR PRODUCTS AND USE THEIR COLOR PRODUCTS. THE PHOTO IS FROM THE BOOKLET THEY GIVE ME.
I'M SO CONFUSED NOW, I HAVE ALREADY SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON PRINTING THE FLYERS WHICH I DON'T KNOW IF I'M ALLOWED TO DISTRIBUTE OR NOT. I REALLY SHOULD OF THINK OF THIS BEFORE I PRINTED OUT ANYTHING. SHOULD I ASK L'OREAL FOR THE PRICE OR DISGARD ALL THE FLYERS, PRINT SOMETHING ELSE? ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE HELP. THANKS A LOT.

Answer 1

Yes - you are in violation of their copyright.

They paid for the photo work, the model, etc - you did not.

Answer 2

But you use the product. Do you make mention that you use these products in your flier? Do you make reference to it on the same cover page? If you have done both of these, then you're safe as your endorsing a product, not using it to gain from their paid ad/model. See the difference? One would be to draw someone into your salon without using their products, and the other is for an advertisement promotiong their products for sale/use. Also, you're so small that no one would notice. You're not Paul Mitchell, yet.

Answer 3

Contact L'Oreal and get written permission to use the image. If the image is of a model you may have to pay a gratuity to the model of agencey to legally use the image. If it is a computer generated image, wich many are these days, then you will only need permission from L'Oreal and possibly pay them a users fee for the right to reproduce the image without copyright infringement.

Answer 4

You might be OK. Check with your beauty supply store to see what L'oreal's use agreements are. If you're a L'oreal customer, you might have permission already.