Ofcom ruled yesterday that The Number, which owns 118 118, neither sought nor obtained Bedford's permission to be caricatured and was in breach of the Advertising Standards Code.
Bedford's lawyers, sports media specialist Couchman Harrington Associates, said the ruling cleared the way for Bedford to go ahead with legal action to recover damages.
Bedford has claimed that he has been the target for dissatisfied 118 118 customers who believe he endorses the service.
The WCRS-created ads were among the most talked about last year and the campaign helped 118 118 win the directory enquiry battle despite the fact that The Number has been criticised for its poor service.
His lawyers said that the number has rejected previous offers to reach an out-of-court settlement leading to the latest Ofcom decision. The firm said the ruling was a warning to the advertising industry, which it said needed to update its practices.
Adrian Rubenstein, Bedford's solicitor at Couchman Harrington Associates, said: "This is an important ruling in the evolution of image rights protection in this country. The advertising industry will have to make sure that it updates its practices to prevent more claims like this arising in the future."
The law firm also said that Bedford was reviewing the decision's impact on The Number's existing ads with his lawyers.
"I am pleased that Ofcom has now vindicated my claim that The Number has 'ripped off' my image. They had denied this all along and dismissed my complaint as absurd. It's a pity that they didn't think to at least ask me for my approval at any point during what has turned out to be a very long campaign," Bedford said.
Despite ruling in Bedford's favour Ofcom did not go as far as to ban The Number from using the Bedford likeness in its advertising.
In a statement, Ofcom said: "It would be disproportionate to direct that the advertisements are not shown in future and we consider that the publication of the finding of breach by the content board is a sufficient resolution of the matter."
Ofcom also said that it was "not satisfied" that Bedford had suffered actual financial harm, which could hurt any claim for damages.
The Number yesterday welcomed the Ofcom decision and said it planned to continue to use the 118 118 runners in its advertising.
William Ostrom, communications director at The Number, said: "Ofcom has made the common-sense decision saying we did caricature but that no damage has been done. For us we are only interested in advertising our service."
Bedford began his case against The Number last year when he accused the company of stealing his image for its Zapatista-moustachioed runners.
Bedford broke the 10,000 metres record in 1973 and, like the two runners featured in the WCRS-created advertising campaign, sported a Zapatista moustache and a vest.
The Number has consistently denied that it modelled its campaign on Bedford and has said it based its runners on another runner, the American Steve Prefontaine, who was killed in a car crash in 1975. Prefontaine did not sport the Zapatista look.
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