Something feels wrong about using someone’s image or other indicia of their persona commercially to make money without their permission. This act raises sometimes conflicting issues of privacy, free speech and commercial rights. The legal remedy that evolved for the...
NCAA to loosen ban on college athletes’ use of own personas
We recently told readers about a California bill under consideration in the state legislature called the Fair Pay to Play Act. Since then, the legislation has become law and will take effect in 2023. California's move is groundbreaking in the world of collegiate...
California law would let college athletes sell their images and names
At our law firm, we represent people who are fighting to protect their exclusive right to use their persona commercially under state right-of-publicity law. The law encompasses an individual's right to use their own "name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness"...
Right of publicity: Images of people in art without permission
At , in , we represent people asserting their rights of publicity as well as defending such lawsuits. The right of publicity protects people from unauthorized commercial use of their "name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness ... on...
Steve McQueen family sues Ferrari over using name on car
On July 31, the surviving family of iconic actor Steve McQueen filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles state court against luxury auto maker Ferrari for calling a limited-edition Ferrara "The McQueen" without permission. The car is brown, apparently in tribute to a brown...
Actress appeals right-of-publicity case to California high court
At our law firm, we represent people whose identities have been exploited for commercial benefit without our clients' permission. The "right of publicity" means that a person's "name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness" may not be used without consent to...
Movies vs. Video games: Two-Faced Treatment of Right of Publicity?
Personal Image Protection: A veteran of the Iraq War filed a right of publicity complaint against the producers of the award-winning film "The Hurt Locker based on the portrayal of his character as the IED disposal expert. Put simply, the issue was whether the...
The Publicity Right of Rosa Parks Stops at the “Public Interest” Station
-Target's Rosa Park Plaque- Personal Image Protection: What better way for the Image Protection blawg to celebrate Martin Luther King Day than to have a brand new and significant right of publicity case involving the life of Rosa Parks? As any student of history...