The formula one racing driver, Eddie Irvine, has won a high court battle against Kelvin MacKenzie's TalkSport after the radio station used a doctored photograph of him in an advertising brochure.

The station used a picture of Irvine dressed in his racing gear and holding a mobile phone to his ear but had replaced the phone with a radio with a logo for Talk Radio - TalkSport's name at the time - emblazoned on it.

Irvine's lawyers argued that the leaflet carrying his image could give the false impression their client was paid to endorse Talk Radio.

TalkSport contested the case, arguing the leaflets were not intended to deceive or cause confusion. The leaflets featured other drivers, and the station said there was no "passing off" involved.

But the judge, Mr Justice Laddie, concluded that a "not insignificant" number of recipients of the brochure would have assumed Irvine had endorsed the station.

"The replacement of the mobile telephone has been done so skilfully that, even now, it does not look like a doctored picture to me," he said.

Giving his judgement in the high court today, Mr Justice Laddie said the law of passing off would give Irvine the protection he required.

"Mr Irvine has a property right in his goodwill which he can protect from unlicensed appropriation consisting of a false claim or suggestion of endorsement of a third party's goods or business," he said.

The judge will decide by March 25 how much money to award Mr Irvine. But he said compensation would not be substantial.

"I find it very difficult to believe that the sums involved are significant for what was a small matter," he said.

The incident took place in 1999 and the leaflet was sent to more than 900 potential advertisers.

The issue of ownership over celebrities' images has been much debated in recent months.

David Beckham's contract wrangling with Manchester United has hinged on how much the club should pay him for using his image.

He reportedly asked for £1.3m a year on top of his salary to cover the club's use of his face in merchandising.