right of publicity – Overlawyered

Free speech roundup

Walter Olson — Fri, 10 May 2019 09:57:18 +0000

Turkish economist “Snatched at Night, Questioned for ‘Insulting’ Erdogan” [Asli Kandemir and Taylan Bilgic, Bloomberg News] “Croatian journalists stage protest against abusive lawsuits” [IFEX]
SCOTUS has made clear that First Amendment generally bans government from “retaliat[ing] against a contractor… for the exercise of rights of political association.” That should doom Los Angeles ordinance requiring contractors to disclose ties to National Rifle Association (NRA) [Eugene Volokh]
“How Regulation Cripples Online Political Speech” [Cato Daily Podcast with attorney Allen Dickerson with the Institute for Free Speech; related on unconstitutional Maryland law] License to chill: New Jersey bill would require disclosure of donors involved in “providing political information on any candidate or public question, legislation, or regulation” [Emily Kelchen, Federalist Society]
Alabama publicity rights law trips up documentary series with focus on deceased man [Timothy Geigner, TechDirt]
“Libel Case Can’t Be Litigated with the Alleged Libel Sealed, Says Federal Court” [Volokh]
“Why Is the Fight for Free Speech Led by the Psychologists?” [Scholar’s Stage] From last year, another review of Keith Whittington’s book on academia, Speak Freely [James Stoner; earlier here, here]

Tags: campaign regulation, colleges and universities, free speech, libel slander and defamation, movies film and videos, right of publicity, Turkey

Free speech roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Some problems with the right of publicity

Walter Olson — Mon, 28 May 2018 15:59:39 +0000

The right of publicity, or right to control the commercial use of one’s identity, has developed as judge-made law and in state statutes; it also figures in many other nations’ law, often under the heading of “personality rights.” Together with the convention of treating it as a form of property rather than a personal right it leads to some practically dubious consequences, discussed by guest blogger Jennifer Rothman in a series of Volokh Conspiracy posts based on a new book. Among them are legal risks for reporting on and depictions of both living and deceased persons, including biographies and discussion of public figures; proposals for transferability and alienability of the right would also mean that persons can in some circumstances lose control over their identities while alive.

Tags: publishers, right of publicity

Some problems with the right of publicity is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Media law roundup

Walter Olson — Thu, 06 Jul 2017 09:59:52 +0000

More on broad “right of publicity” bill in New York legislature [Jonathan Peters, Columbia Journalism Review; earlier]
“Court Orders Man Who Sued News Orgs For Clipping His Facebook Video To Pay Everyone’s Attorney’s Fees” [Timothy Geigner, TechDirt]
ABC settles “pink slime” defamation lawsuit on undisclosed terms [AP, earlier]
“Power Line” blogger attends media reception at White House, finds notes subpoenaed by travel ban challengers [Scott Johnson, City Journal]
“Europe serves as a warning against Sarah Palin and Trump’s libel law crusade” [Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner]
Litigation consequences of scripted hookups on reality TV: last paragraph is especially surreal [James Callenberger, Vulture]

Tags: libel slander and defamation, movies film and videos, right of publicity, subpoenas

Media law roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“New York does not have a chronic celebrity shortage that warrants rushed and careless legislation”

Walter Olson — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 16:34:46 +0000

“The right of publicity is an offshoot of state privacy law that gives a person the right to limit the public use of her name, likeness, or identity for commercial purposes….Since the right of publicity can impact a huge range of speech, any changes to the law should be considered carefully.” But an Assembly bill in New York is being moved forward without much discussion that “would dramatically expand New York’s right of publicity, making it a property right that can be passed on to your heirs – even if you aren’t a New York resident.” [Daniel Nazer, EFF] Compare another piece of legislation intended to protect celebrities’ interests yet not well thought out, California’s recently enacted restrictions on the sale of signed memorabilia.

Tags: celebrities, New York, right of publicity

“New York does not have a chronic celebrity shortage that warrants rushed and careless legislation” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

For Prince’s name, perpetual posthumous protection?

Walter Olson — Thu, 19 May 2016 04:28:41 +0000

In the aftermath of Prince’s death, lawyers representing the entertainer’s estate administrator have been pushing a posthumous right of publicity law in Minnesota. The proposed PRINCE Act (“Personal Rights In Names Can Endure”) would forbid the use of an individual’s name “in any medium in any manner” without consent, which critics say makes it a rare instance of a law that actually violates itself. [David Post/Volokh, Jacob Gershman/WSJ Law Blog]

Tags: celebrities, Minnesota, music and musicians, names of laws, right of publicity

For Prince’s name, perpetual posthumous protection? is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

“Target has right to sell Rosa Parks biographies, commemorative plaque”

Walter Olson — Sun, 10 Jan 2016 16:14:30 +0000

In an important decision, the Eleventh Circuit has ruled that the Rosa Parks estate does not have the right to prevent the use of the likeness and words of the late civil rights leader in biographies and tribute material. While the “right of publicity” in privacy law, best known for enabling the estates of deceased entertainers to control commercialization of their identity, has not been applied so broadly as to prevent the publication of unauthorized biographies and discussions of historical figures, its exact bounds have been uncertain; the new decision makes clear that a broad range of discussion of figures and movements of public interest counts as protected speech that does not depend on survivors’ permission. [Eugene Volokh]

Tags: right of publicity

“Target has right to sell Rosa Parks biographies, commemorative plaque” is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

April 22 roundup

Walter Olson — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 04:05:04 +0000

“On what planet is it remotely constitutional to *raid someone’s home* and forbid them from speaking about it?” [Julian Sanchez on new at-length National Review account of Wisconsin John Doe raids; my earlier writing on the raids at Cato and here; Scott Shackford, Reason; Walker opponents still defending John Doe proceeding, to praise from (updated) left-leaning national Alliance for Justice and Center for American Progress]
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe vetoes bill to provide more transparency in state’s hiring of outside counsel [Legal NewsLine]
BuckyBalls gone, Zen Magnets still standing: “Two Cheers for 10th Circuit’s Temporary Stay of CPSC’s New Magnet Safety Standard” [Mark Chenoweth, WLF]
Arkansas governor vetoes “right of publicity” bill [Volokh]
NY Times profiles prolific privacy lawsuit filer Jay Edelson, whose class action firm we’ve met before;
Recusal motion gamesmanship from trial lawyers at Illinois Supreme Court [Richard Samp, WLF]
Law faculty diversity: Republican women “were — and are — almost missing from law teaching.” [James Lindgren, SSRN via TaxProf; more from Lindgren]

Tags: CPSC, Illinois, law schools, recusals, right of publicity, Virginia, Wisconsin

April 22 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Estate of late D.C. mayor is suing his kidney donor

Walter Olson — Sat, 11 Apr 2015 17:23:39 +0000

“One of Kim Dickens’ kidneys helped keep Marion Barry alive in 2008. But the late Ward 8 councilmember’s estate isn’t eager to return the favor, according to a new lawsuit filed against Dickens by widow Cora Masters Barry.” The suit says Dickens’ foundation continues to use the image of the late Washington mayor, sometimes nicknamed “Mayor-for-Life”, in its promotion despite demands that it stop doing so. “This looks to be the first fight over Barry’s estate, which otherwise left behind little in terms of assets.” [Washington City Paper]

Tags: charitable trusts, right of publicity, Washington D.C.

Estate of late D.C. mayor is suing his kidney donor is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

Update: suit claiming pancake credit falls flat

Walter Olson — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 11:22:25 +0000

A judge tosses the suit against pancake makers by heirs of one of the women hired to portray Aunt Jemima to promote the brand [The Wrap, earlier]

Tags: right of publicity, statutes of limitations

Update: suit claiming pancake credit falls flat is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system

December 2 roundup

Walter Olson — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 05:05:07 +0000

“Lying to a Lover Could Become ‘Rape’ In New Jersey” [Elizabeth Nolan Brown/Reason, Scott Greenfield]
“A $21 Check Prompts Toyota Driver to Wonder Who Benefited from Class Action” [Jacob Gershman, WSJ Law Blog]
On “right of publicity” litigation over the image of the late General George Patton [Eugene Volokh]
HBO exec: “We have probably 160 lawyers” looking at film about Scientology [The Hollywood Reporter]
Revisiting the old and unlamented Cambridge, Mass. rent control system [Fred Meyer, earlier]
Lawyers! Wanna win big by appealing to the jurors’ “reptile” brain? Check this highly educational offering [Keenan Ball]
“Suit claims Google’s listings for unlicensed locksmiths harmed licensed business” [ABA Journal]

Tags: Boston, Google, juries, landlord tenant law, New Jersey, right of publicity, Scientology, Toyota

December 2 roundup is a post from Overlawyered - Chronicling the high cost of our legal system