Tag: First Amendment
Bride and Groom Sue Wedding Photographer
A married couple sued their wedding photographer, not for bad photos, but for violating their rights of publicity by using their wedding photos in promotional brochures. The couple explicitly opted out of allowing the use of their photographs other than for their own personal use. The couple retained the copyright in their wedding photographs and...
8th Circuit Appears Divided in Dryer v. NFL Oral Arguments
The oral arguments from last Thursday’s hearing before the 8th Circuit in Dryer highlight a host of flashpoints in right of publicity law. The arguments focused on whether the use of historical film clips constituted commercial speech. The plaintiffs’ attorney claimed that the use by the NFL was clearly commercial speech and therefore not entitled...
Student-Athletes File Appeal in Marshall v. ESPN
The student-athlete plaintiffs in Marshall have filed their opening brief in their appeal to the Sixth Circuit. The Tennessee district court had earlier rejected the claim that television broadcasts of collegiate games violated the players’ rights of publicity under Tennessee law. The brief contends that the district court erred by excluding the sports broadcasts from...
Beyonce, Pharrell, Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Kanye West Sue Over Use of their Images and Names on Merchandise
These megastars sued Eleven LLC for using their names and images in a variety of merchandise, including t-shirts, hats, and cell phone covers. Some of the images evoked Hitler and some of the items used lyrics from the artists’ songs. The plaintiffs’ complaint includes claims for violations of New York’s Civil Rights Laws § 50...
Yale Brainstorming Workshop on How to Fix the Right of Publicity
This weekend I took part in an all-day workshop at Yale Law School, sponsored by the Information Society Project and the Abrams Institute for Freedom of Expression. Some of the leading right of publicity and First Amendment litigators and scholars in the country were present. The workshop operated under Chatham House rules which means I...
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...
Federal Court in Tennessee rejects student-athletes’ right of publicity claim against ESPN for game broadcasts
In June of 2015, a district court in Tennessee rejected a class action claim by student-athletes that their rights of publicity were being violated by the broadcast of collegiate games. The court held that the use of their names and likenesses in the context of the broadcasts was outside the scope of the statutory right...
Alabama’s New Right of Publicity Statute Goes Into Effect and Threatens Free Speech
Alabama's Right of Publicity Act went into effect on August 1, 2015. It is not yet clear what effect the law will have on the common law rights in the state. Of most concern is the expansive language of the statute which includes both for-profit and non-profit uses of any indicia of identity. Although the...