Tag: Expressive Works
Amazon Beats Right of Publicity Claim for Use of Photograph on Book Cover
Last week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Roe v. Amazon held that booksellers Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble (among others) could not be held liable for violating the privacy and publicity rights of a couple whose image was used without permission on the cover of an erotic novel displayed on those companies’ websites....
Company that Owns Muhammad Ali sues Fox over Tribute to Late Boxer
The company that owns and manages former boxing great Muhammad Ali's right of publicity and trademarks has sued Fox Broadcasting in federal district court in Illinois. The complaint filed today claims that Fox's broadcast of a memorial to Muhammad Ali leading up to the broadcast of the 2017 Super Bowl violated Ali's right of publicity...
The Plot (and Feud) Thickens
On Friday, a California superior court agreed with two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland that her lawsuit against FX Networks could proceed. FX had sought to put a swift end to her lawsuit arising out of her portrayal in the network’s critically acclaimed miniseries, Feud. The series chronicled the longstanding conflict between Joan Crawford and...
Olivia de Havilland Back in the Spotlight
One of Hollywood’s most successful plaintiffs and actresses is at it again. Olivia de Havilland, the two-time Oscar winner, who appeared in such Hollywood classics as Gone with the Wind and The Heiress, has sued FX Networks and Ryan Murphy in California Superior Court over her portrayal in its miniseries Feud. She claims that the...
Warhol Foundation Claims Fair Use of Photographs of Dead Pop Star Prince
Oh, how the chickens come home to roost. In Comedy III v. Saderup, Inc., the California Supreme Court distinguished Andy Warhol’s celebrity portraits from those of Gary Saderup’s realistic portraits of The Three Stooges. Now this unconvincing and unpredictable distinction between Warhol’s celebrity portraits and those by other less famous, and more “realistic” artists is...
Arkansas Resurrects Right of Publicity Bill
The Arkansas legislature has reintroduced a right of publicity bill in the state after last year's bill was vetoed by its governor. Governor Asa Hutchinson was concerned about the bill's limits on free speech. Arkansas to date has only recognized a common law right of privacy and the tort of appropriation, tracking the Restatement (Second)...
EA Files Cert. Petition in Davis v. Electronic Arts
On Monday, EA filed a Petition seeking Supreme Court review in Davis v. Electronic Arts, 775 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 2015). The video game maker asks the Supreme Court to reverse the Ninth Circuit and hold that the use of realistic depictions of people in expressive works, including video games, is protected by the First...
Aretha Franklin Gets Documentary Film Pulled from Film Festivals
A lawsuit filed by famous recording artist, Aretha Franklin, against a documentary filmmaker, Allan Elliott, led to the pulling of his documentary film, “Amazing Grace,” from the line-ups at numerous prestigious film festivals, including Telluride and Toronto. Ms. Franklin claims that the film violated her right of publicity by using some concert footage of her...
Character in WOLF OF WALL STREET Does Not Violate Real Person’s Publicity Rights
On September 30, 2015, a federal district court in New York dismissed a right of publicity claim brought by former Stratton Oakmont employee, Andrew Greene. Greene was featured in convicted felon Jordan Belfort's memoir upon which the Martin Scorsese movie was based. The movie, however, did not use the plaintiff's name or likeness, but instead...
Ninth Circuit Denies Rehearing in Davis v. Electronic Arts
The Ninth Circuit denied rehearing in its controversial decision in Davis v. Electronic Arts that the use of real professional athletes identities in a video game was not protected by the First Amendment. This decision leaves at risk numerous expressive and nonfiction works that include portrayals of historical fiction. For a detailed analysis of why...