Tag: First Amendment
New York Right of Publicity Bill Resurrected Again
Once again as the New York legislature nears the end of its term for the year, the Assembly is trying to push through an ill-thought-out right of publicity bill without allowing for hearings and public debate on the bill. An amended version of the bill was introduced yesterday. The amended version suffers from most of...
The Threat Posed to History & Storytellers
In this final guest post, "Real People, Real History, Real Problems," on The Volokh Conspiracy about issues raised in my book, I consider the danger that the right of publicity will block or substantially limit depictions of real people. The expansion of the right of publicity's scope over the last few decades, combined with an...
The Topsy-Turvy Market in Dead People
My post today on The Volokh Conspiracy considers "The Market in Dead People," and the "ghoulish futures market in aging celebrities." Read it in full here: https://reason.com/volokh/2018/05/10/the-market-in-dead-people This is the fourth of five installments of issues raised by my book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World.
De Havilland Seeks Review of Feud Decision
Olivia de Havilland's lawyers have filed a petition seeking review in the California Supreme Court of a California Court of Appeal's recent decision holding that the First Amendment bars her false light and right of publicity claims arising out of the use of a character based on her in FX's docudrama Feud. Her lawyers challenge...
Texas Appellate Court Strikes Down State’s Revenge Porn Law
This week a Texas Court of Appeals in Ex Parte Jones struck down the state’s law making it a criminal offense to “disclose intimate visual material” without the permission of the person depicted when that person expected the image to remain “private.” Texas Penal Code § 21.16 (b) The appellate court held that the law...
First Amendment Protects Use of Olivia de Havilland in FEUD Docudrama
In a resounding victory for FX, the California Court of Appeal today reversed the trial court’s decision in de Havilland v. FX Networks on all counts. The panel held that the anti-SLAPP motion to strike de Havilland's claims should have been granted both as to the right of publicity and false light claims. The three-judge...
Seventh Circuit Certifies Question to Indiana Supreme Court in Fantasy Sports Case
Today, the Seventh Circuit with lightening speed issued an opinion in the Daniels v. Fanduel case seeking guidance from the Supreme Court of Indiana. The case, which I have previously written about, involves a lawsuit by former college football players against online fantasy-sports companies FanDuel and DraftKings. An Indiana district court dismissed the case last...
L.A. Times Op-Ed: What Does Olivia de Havilland Have Against Allison Janney?
My op-ed on the Olivia de Havilland v. FX Networks lawsuit, currently on appeal in California, has been published by the Los Angeles Times and will appear in Sunday's print edition just in time for this year's Oscar's ceremony. If de Havilland succeeds, movies that tell unuathorized stories about real people may be a thing...
“Simpsonized” Animated Character Held Transformative
Earlier this week, the California Court of Appeal gave a Valentine’s Day present to Twentieth Century Fox, by throwing out a right of publicity lawsuit brought by Frank Sivero. Sivero, a film actor, best known for his work playing mafiosos, objected to a recurring character in the animated television series, The Simpsons, that he claimed...
Briefs Rain Down on California Court of Appeal in De Havilland Case
At least five separate amicus briefs have been filed in the expedited appeal in Olivia de Havilland v. FX Networks. I filed an amicus in this case with a number of other law professors in support of FX Networks. We argue that the First Amendment protects the use of real people, particularly public figures, in...