Tag: Right of Publicity
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.
Reanimating Actors and the Dangers of a Transferable Right of Publicity
In "Only Robin Wright Should Own Robin Wright," I consider the dangers of the digital reanimation of actors and the creation of a transferable right to one's own name, likeness, and voice. This is the third post on The Volokh Conspiracy considering various issues raised by my just released book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined...
Can Privacy Survive the Digital Age?
In my second post on The Volokh Conspiracy on topics related to my book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World (Harvard Univ. Press 2018), I consider whether privacy can survive the digital age. Much of the story that my book uncovers provides insights into how best to understand and address today's...
Official Release of The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World
My book, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World, was officially released today by Harvard University Press. Jack Balkin of Yale Law School has described the book as the "definitive biography of the right of publicity" and as a story told with "zest, explaining how we should restruture this right on our...
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...
Lohan Loses Yet Another Right of Publicity Claim
The actor Lindsay Lohan continued her losing streak with another right of publicity lawsuit being tossed out. Last week the New York Court of Appeals in Lohan v. Take-Two Interactive Software, put to bed her claim against the makers of the video game Grand Theft Auto V (GTAV). Lohan had claimed that the video game...
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...
Louisiana Reintroduces Right of Publicity Bill
On February 28, 2018, Louisiana reintroduced a draft right of publicity bill titled the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act. I have written about efforts to pass such a bill in Lousiana previously. Those efforts thus far have failed. The new bill is currently with the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
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...