Tag: False Endorsement
Jazz Great Thelonious Monk’s Heir Objects to Brother Thelonious Beer
Earlier this week, Thelonious Monk, Jr. filed a lawsuit against North Coast Brewing Co. in the federal district court of California for allegedly using his father, the great jazz musician Thelonious Monk’s name, likeness, and image on its beer labels, for its brand name, and in advertising and marketing the ale without permission. The complaint...
Harris Faulkner Hamster Case Settles
No surprise here. As I predicted, Hasbro and Harris Faulkner have reached a settlement only a few months after a district court in New Jersey denied Habsro's motion to dismiss. The claim that the toy hamster looked anything like the Fox news reporter was always a stretch, but because the name-based right of publicity claim...
The Hamster Case Continues as District Court Denies Hasbro’s Motion to Dismiss
A district court in New Jersey denied Hasbro's motion to dimiss Fox news reporter, Harris Faulkner's right of publicity claim. I wrote earlier about Faulkner's lawsuit against Hasbro for naming its hamster toy Harris Faulkner. The real-life Faulkner claims that the toy violates her right of publicity by using both her name and likeness, and...
Julia Child Foundation Sues Airbnb for Using Her Name
I finally got my hands on the complaint that was filed a few weeks ago by the Julia Child Foundation in California Superior Court. The Foundation holds the rights to Julia Child's "intellectual property rights, including all rights of publicity." Julia Child is, of course, the famous "cooking teacher, author and television personality" who wrote...
Eighth Circuit Tosses NFL Players’ Lawsuit
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit affirmed a district court’s summary judgment against NFL players in Dryer v. NFL. The underlying lawsuit involved objections by players to the use of their names and likenesses in NFL game footage and additional interviews in NFL-produced historical documentaries about “significant games, seasons, and...
Actors Sues for Use of Performance in DVD
Brian McCabe, an actor, has sued Entertainment One and Swirl Films for selling DVDs of Community Service, a television show, that he had agreed to appear in and that he knew would be televised. McCabe claims that although he agreed to the airing of his performance on television, he did not give permission for it...
Darlene Love Sues Google for Using Her Voice
Darlene Love, an “icon of pop music’s golden age,” sued Google today for using her voice in advertising for mobile phones. Love is ranked 84 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Singers of all-time list, and is best known for He’s A Rebel, Alone on Christmas, and Christmas (Baby Please Come Home). She is also known...
REVISED — L.A. Court Allows Reese Witherspoon to Proceed with Right of Publicity Claim Against Jeweler
(Revised to reflect final court order) On Tuesday, a court ruled that Reese Witherspoon could proceed with her right of publicity claims against a number of defendants who had used her name and image to sell various products, particularly jewelery. One company allegedly named an engagement ring, Reese, in reference to the famous actor. The...
Article in Virginia Law Review Documents Expansive Reach of the Right of Publicity
My latest article, Commercial Speech, Commercial Use and the Intellectual Property Quagmire, is in print this week in the Virginia Law Review. The article considers the role in intellectual property laws of commercial speech doctrine and considerations of commerciality more generally (usually in the sense of a use that is for profit). In terms of right...
More Musicians Object to Uses of their Music in Political Campaigns
Today, Rude Music filed a complaint in a federal district court in Illinois for the use of the song “Eye of the Tiger” by Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. The song by the band Survivor was the theme song in the movie Rocky III which topped the charts at the time. Huckabee played the song at...