All Questions
Tagged with personal-likeness or right-of-publicity
58 questions
14
votes
4
answers
6k
views
Is it legal (US) to target drunk people and interview them to create (commercial) content a.k.a. street interviews?
In some forms of street interviews, people seem to specifically target intoxicated pedestrians, some seemingly exclusively young women, put camera and microphone in their face and try to get them ...
- 261
-5
votes
3
answers
173
views
I'm 17 and someone 33 photographed me without my consent when I was walking at a park. Can I press charges? [closed]
I'm 17 years old. Someone 33 photographed me without my consent when I was walking at a park. I stopped him and asked him to delete the photos. I told him 8 times about it, but he ain't listening to ...
- 101
0
votes
2
answers
245
views
Is it legal for a website to reveal the earnings of the freelancers publicly without the freelancers' consent?
My question is exactly as the title says. I welcome answers for multiple jurisdictions, but I prefer there be some for any number of states in America, answers for countries in the EU in general, or ...
39
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Do the Ohio sheriffs suing Afroman have any legal standing in their claim of "invasion of privacy and misappropriation of their likenesses" lawsuit?
From this article “Afroman Sued by Sheriffs for Allegedly Profiting from Raid on his Home.
Afroman is reportedly being sued by a number of Ohio sheriff deputies for allegedly profiting off the raid ...
- 5,559
6
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Who owns the legal rights to a dead person's likeness?
A comedy sketch featuring an AI likeness of George Carlin, a show which his family are explicitly against (as mentioned in the above article).
The writer of the show claims the following,
I just want ...
- 165
-5
votes
1
answer
257
views
Florida Photography Privacy Law: Company Employee Taking Pictures of Me Without My Consent [closed]
Looking for any guidance on this issue. It was one of those "Get three free nights at a hotel, all you gotta do is attend the 2hr mandatory sales pitch! :)" demon packages. But some bs went ...
1
vote
1
answer
220
views
Is it legal to bring someone to the attention of a large mob, knowing they are likely to be injured?
Say I'm a famous person with a large and particularly unsavory following.
I point at random private person Ash Zeweski and say "boy, I hate this person who is my enemy, they have poor moral fiber ...
- 3,847
0
votes
1
answer
89
views
What are the "fair use" implications of using someone's personal story in a political campaign without their permission?
After the State of the Union address, Senator Katie Britt told a story about a woman's being (sex) "trafficked" in a rebuttal. Let's say that the facts were accurate in isolation, but it had ...
- 6,558
0
votes
1
answer
213
views
Are people's face/voice copyrighted by default?
As you may know there are some AI apps that can clone anybody's voice (turn your voice to their voice), or there are some face swap apps you can replace your face with somebody else's face and make a ...
- 3
1
vote
1
answer
480
views
Is voice cloning allowed for non-commercial utilizations?
When the uses of voice cloning (also known as audio deepfakes) are non-commercial, are they legal?
"Voice cloning" is a feature of speech synthesis systems that use a neural network. It ...
anon
5
votes
2
answers
161
views
Who can check sperm donor history in California?
Let's say Tom was a sperm donor in college. Now he is getting married. Can anyone besides Tom (e.g. Tom's wife) has access to Tom's sperm donation history? Can offspring/family of offspring have ...
- 569
1
vote
3
answers
775
views
Would this YouTuber potentially be in legal trouble for filming in a public place?
Brendan Kavanagh, YouTuber pianist, was performing in a "public" place which appears to be a shopping mall in the U.K. and he was being filmed. A few people asked not to be filmed and at ...
- 137
2
votes
1
answer
360
views
Does one need the prototype's permission to make dolls?
Bob creates a doll of Rob (with startlingly realistic resemblance) without him knowing and starts selling it. Bob does not promote any idea, service or other product with this doll: it's the doll ...
- 28.2k
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Are there penalties for someone who films you without your permission? [duplicate]
If someone films you in passing, is there any action that can reasonably be taken, if you did not want to be filmed and they did not ask for permission?
- 797
1
vote
0
answers
95
views
If you blend copyrighted voices to create a unique voice, does the resulting creation become exempt from copyright restrictions?
Suppose I blend copyrighted voices taken from popular media to craft an entirely distinct vocal composite.
For instance, combining snippets of various celebrity voices (like Leonardo Dicaprio and Mr. ...
- 11
0
votes
1
answer
97
views
Can I sell a figurine of iconic football moments [closed]
I am making a football star figurine replicating an iconic goal scoring moment. I want to sell these figurines on Etsy. Is there any legal requirements for the UK where I have to say something or I ...
- 9
1
vote
0
answers
95
views
Can someone promote their text-to-speech application that has public figures voices?
Let’s supposed that we have a Text-To-Speech site with public figures voices and we want to make some videos in order to promote it.
Our country legislation includes presumed consent for people that ...
- 19
0
votes
1
answer
242
views
Is there any law protecting me from the people that distrubute a video of me falling the stairs and shared without my permision?
From California, US.
I fell from the stairs at work last week, even if the fall looked terrible on video I managed to not brake anything but just damaged ligaments and some body, visit ER, claim WC ...
45
votes
4
answers
22k
views
What are the legal repercussions of taking a stranger's picture in public?
With Snapchat and Instagram it is all too easy to abuse picture taking and really inexpensive to snap a photo of an unknowing stranger. If you are in public and will only post pictures online without ...
- 635
1
vote
2
answers
167
views
Are Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) of public athletes protected by copyright?
Assume the following facts:
Jurisdiction: Ohio
Alice is a professional athlete, well known to the public.
Bob makes "fan art" of Alice and attempts to sell his art to the public.
Question: ...
- 9,970
3
votes
1
answer
120
views
Is selling an autographed mugshot of oneself a violation of Indiana's "Son of Sam" (notoriety-for-profit) law?
Let's hypothetically say a person is arrested and booked into a county jail. During the intake process, their mugshot is taken. Let's also say that later on the arrest makes major news, even beyond ...
15
votes
4
answers
8k
views
Can a celebrity sue someone who takes obnoxious pictures/videos of him in public and uploads onto internet without his permission?
Suppose a celebrity digs his nose or scratches his private part because of sudden itch or performs some unsightly act in public. Someone takes his picture/video and uploads onto internet without his ...
- 336
3
votes
1
answer
164
views
Book cover photo of actor and their "Right of publicity"
I see unauthorized, unflattering books in the US about celebrities all the time that use that celebrity's image on the book (clearly NOT with their express permission) - because the book is non-...
- 227
1
vote
1
answer
76
views
Are the newspapers allowed to print the house number when it's subject to a Closure Order?
If a house is subject to a Closure Order made under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, can the press, especially local newspapers, publish the house number as well as the street ...
- 11
2
votes
0
answers
172
views
Publishing an interview/conversations in a book without explicit consent
Let's say I've conducted an interview/conversation as the interviewer with someone. I didn't tell him I may publish that interview (in a book or elsewhere) as I wasn't thinking of publishing it at the ...
- 121
2
votes
1
answer
68
views
Book cover image with faces found online
I am paying Zuma Ltd for a licensing fee to publish an image that has been online since 2016 which includes faces of at least two famous individuals and several anonymous audience members. The image ...
1
vote
1
answer
198
views
Right to show photographs without permission in a church setting
It seems there is a right to publicly share photographs of people taken without their permission, if the photographs are taken in public places.
Would that right apply to a church setting? Or would ...
- 111
5
votes
3
answers
7k
views
Are there legal implications to lying about your sponsors?
Let's say I release a video where I say "sponsored by Company C" even though they never sponsored me.
Are there legal implications to lying about that, or is this action protected by the First ...
- 333
3
votes
1
answer
286
views
Publishing (non-commercially) a video-interview with a celebrity online, without written consent
Suppose that several years ago a non-profit organization made a short video-interview with one of the most famous US performers, who very rarely gives interviews.
Suppose that it was recorded in ...
- 131
1
vote
2
answers
205
views
Are self-portraits exempt from the right of publicity according to the Creative Commons license?
The legal code of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license states:
Moral rights, such as the right of integrity, are not licensed under this Public License, nor are publicity, ...
1
vote
3
answers
449
views
Legalities of making a documentary/biography about a person's life
I just read an article about how Mike Tyson is calling for a boycott of Hulu over a documentary they are making about his life.
He says the documentary is 'unauthorized' and that an 'authorized' life ...
- 147
1
vote
1
answer
235
views
When can I sell 3d models and 2d renders of dead peoples and celebrities?
When is it allowed to create and sell 3d models and 2d renders of existing dead people and celebrities?
I can imagine this is not a easy topic and is different depending on the jurisdiction. Here are ...
- 13
6
votes
2
answers
513
views
Can a platform become a publisher through it's actions?
Platforms such as social media sites are protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, this allows platforms to avoid liability for most content posted by its users.
Publishers, on ...
- 1,516
1
vote
0
answers
97
views
Could a celebrity theoretically claim copyright on the arrangement of makeup/jewelry/clothing on their persons to sue paparazzi?
Just something I've wondered about for a while. Ownership of our likenesses seems to be fairly weak in the US, but photography of public art such as graffiti can be a copyright violation.
Could a ...
- 111
1
vote
1
answer
34
views
What is the meaning of "exploitation" in a publicity agreement and is it necessary for a waiver of claims?
An agreement says:
"I hereby expressly release, discharge and waive all claims, demands, losses and liabilities...which may arise from my participation...hereunder or as a result of the ...
0
votes
2
answers
436
views
Questions about real people and fictional characters in novels
I was wondering if any legal experts can give me any advice about how much freedom a writer has to refer to real people and places in a fictional work and in what situations it's best to get ...
- 249
3
votes
1
answer
205
views
Plausibility of US Suit over Ownership of Photos of Slaves
Background
As reported in this Washington Post news article and many similar articles in other major news organs, a lawsuit has very recently been filed against Harvard University and various ...
- 115k
4
votes
1
answer
374
views
Profit from a celebrity domain name if I have the same name?
Here is my situation.
I have a fairly unique first/last name in the States but it is common
in another country. I live in the States.
I own a .com, which is my full name. It is an empty page right ...
- 41
1
vote
1
answer
254
views
If I'm the director of photography for a project, does the production company need a model release from me if I film myself in the project?
I am the DP (director of photography) on a streaming TV show filmed in New York state. I am not employed by the production company, but rather work as a contractor with them. The production company ...
- 143
7
votes
2
answers
4k
views
What is considered "public" in the context of taking videos or audio recordings?
According to the answers in this question it's legal to photograph someone in public without their consent. I'm assuming the answers still hold true for video or audio recording (such as what can be ...
user791
0
votes
1
answer
525
views
Are photographs of portraits of Mozart that are in the public domain free for commercial use?
While there are photos of Einstein that are in the public domain (e.g. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_Einstein_(Nobel).png), Einstein ,the person, is not in the public domain. For this ...
- 101
4
votes
1
answer
463
views
What is illegal about my app?
I want to create an app similar to the 4shared Music app that enables downloading MP3 files stored on my server.
Features
Serves all mp3 files from host server
Distributed via Google Play Store
Music ...
- 43
9
votes
1
answer
770
views
How do laws affect photography of non-humans in public when people may be in the frame?
Given that this is taking place in a public area where one would not have an expectation of privacy, what legal restrictions exist on photography of people where they are not the subject of the ...
- 12.3k
0
votes
2
answers
219
views
What information about a person are private and what are public?
What information of a person I may write on my web site without special permission from that person? Lets take 'Steve Jobs', you can find a lot of websites where you can find date of birth, name, ...
- 137
1
vote
1
answer
314
views
Using celebrity recording without permission
In the US, if one legally records a conversation with a celebrity, is one then allowed to use snippets of the recording (say, too short and generic for words spoken to be copyrighted) to produce a ...
- 333
4
votes
2
answers
454
views
Does posting a photo of a couple on a website require permission from both people in the photo?
Working on a unique concept website, I am questioning how legal it is and what sort of disclaimer would need to be present in the T&C to remain protected.
Basically, a user pays a fee and is ...
- 141
0
votes
1
answer
156
views
What are the intellectual property rules regarding painting a real/fictitious person?
I am an absolute layman and unaware whether there are universally accepted (or something like the UN recommended) copyright laws or not and thus, I have not specified as to which copyright laws I am ...
- 1
0
votes
1
answer
79
views
Do I need a star's permission to write a fiction TV series inspired but not exactly as his life?
I want to write a fiction TV series inspired by a true love story between a star and his fans except that I'm going to represent the fans as an actual female character and make it a romantic series. ...
- 101
2
votes
1
answer
177
views
Can I legally use a photo if I'm in it?
I used to be a professional athlete. Gettyimages has many photos of me but want $500 per photo for a digital download. Do I have to pay for rights to the photos in which I am featured?
- 21
0
votes
1
answer
327
views
Celebrity images for non commercial purposes
Can I source photos off of the web of celebrities for non-commercial purposes? In particular: a theatre wants to project images of celebrities onto the backdrop of their stage as part of a "tribute ...
Sandy Morton