Questions tagged [right-of-publicity]

The right of individuals to control commercial use and benefits from their identity or likeness.

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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 ...
MihneaC's user avatar
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1 answer
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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 ...
Greendrake's user avatar
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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 ...
Digital fire's user avatar
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3 votes
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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 ...
PreacherCoderTroll's user avatar
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1 answer
166 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 ...
A Estrada's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
61 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 ...
Losa48's user avatar
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2 answers
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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: ...
Alexanne Senger's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
66 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 ...
Michael Daley's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
125 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-...
Nostradamus's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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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 ...
BobDoolittle's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
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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, ...
Jaap Joris Vens's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
190 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 ...
1NN's user avatar
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1 answer
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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 ...
tryingtofigureitout's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
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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 ...
d_e's user avatar
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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 ...
Nick O.'s user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
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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 ...
Mr. Spock's user avatar
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1 answer
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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 ...
Gyniji's user avatar
  • 13
6 votes
2 answers
488 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 ...
User37849012643's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
196 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 ...
David Siegel's user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
6k 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 ...
pushkin's user avatar
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16 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 ...
user768421's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
323 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 ...
user3485864's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
429 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 ...
K. Claesson's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
60 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. ...
Yostina's user avatar
  • 101
0 votes
2 answers
197 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, ...
daVinci's user avatar
  • 127
0 votes
1 answer
106 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 ...
stefan's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
221 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 ...
AJ Henderson's user avatar
2 votes
0 answers
31 views

Drug-testing on background

What sort of circumstances would allow a company or lab to put a positive pre-employment drug test on your background or send it to a consumer report agency? I'm curious about the consequences of ...
Ethan Westgaurd's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
287 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 ...
Reinstate Monica's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
157 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?
user10988's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
114 views

Is using a person's face in satirical video without video legal?

I Have Been Taking Photos Of People And Putting Them On Youtube Videos In Satirical Context Without Consent. In One Case, It Was Against Their Will. I Do Not Leak Any Information Or Send Hate Or ...
Bruce Wayne's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
224 views

Can you be sued for using someone else's last name in app?

We are looking to create an app that contains someones last name in the title, as well as some data created by him. The data is public for anyone to use in the form of spreadsheets, the goal of the ...
LBJ33's user avatar
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1 vote
0 answers
58 views

Is it legal to use a person's name for a commercial purpose if it is a household name?

As an example, could I make a company called "Einstein Electronics" or "Houdini Locks" (probably not a great name for a lock company) or something without getting permission from the named persons, ...
the_nacho's user avatar
  • 111
2 votes
0 answers
225 views

Media consent form for summer camp

We have a media consent form that parents have signed for the campers at our summer camp. The wording is as follows: The Participant identified below desires to participate in the [insert summer ...
dardeshna's user avatar
  • 121
0 votes
1 answer
286 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 ...
user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
270 views

What recourse do I have against commercial use of my image?

Somebody took photos of my wife on a treadmill at a gym without her permission. One of those photos appeared a week later in the local paper in an advertisement for a car dealership. Subsequently my ...
vaja4849kjhg's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
411 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 ...
Lazhar's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
133 views

Am I allowed to use famous peoples' faces in an app?

For example, can I use David Cameron's face in an app, without permission?
Josh's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
443 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 ...
user128279's user avatar
8 votes
2 answers
266 views

Are pictures that don't have model releases protected under the DMCA?

Let's say a user of my website posted a picture. I know that as long as my website and the picture satisfies the conditions of the DMCA, I have a safe harbor against copyright claims by the individual ...
Jeff Caros's user avatar
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 ...
user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
696 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 ...
jimsug's user avatar
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44 votes
4 answers
20k 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 ...
Script Kitty's user avatar