News & Commentary

Third Circuit Holds that Newscaster’s Right of Publicity Claim can Proceed against Facebook

September 28, 2021 9:15 am PT

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The Third Circuit in a 2-to-1 decision in Hepp v. Facebook has parted ways with the Ninth Circuit by holding that the Communications Decency Act § 230 (CDA § 230) allows right of publicity claims. This reversal of the district court allows the plaintiff Karen Hepp’s lawsuit to proceed against...

Toddlers' Lawsuit Against Trump Tossed in Test of New York’s Expanded anti-SLAPP Law

July 21, 2021 4:30 pm PT

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On July 9th, a New York trial court dismissed the high-profile lawsuit against Trump, Trump for President, Inc. (“TFP), and Lance Cook brought by the parents of two toddlers whose embrace was transformed from a meme of racial harmony into an edited video suggesting one of them was a “racist baby.”...

Dua Lipa Sued Over Posting Photo of Herself on Instagram

July 14, 2021 11:15 am PT

Dua Lipa Instagram copyright right of publicity lawsuit

Dua Lipa has been sued by Integral Images, Inc. in district court in California for posting a photo of herself on her Instagram feed. This is yet another in a string of copyright lawsuits arising out of celebrities (like Khloe Kardashian & Tom Brady) posting images of themselves...

Sacha Baron Cohen Sues Over Unauthorized Ad Campaign

July 14, 2021 10:15 am PT

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Earlier this week, film and television actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his company, Please You Can Touch, sued Solar Therapeutics in district court in Massachusetts for the unauthorized use of his likeness, Borat character, and the character's catch-phrase in a billboard advertisement for a cannabis...

Coca-Cola Wins Round II as California Appellate Court Reverses Massive Jury Award

July 8, 2021 9:30 am PT

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The California Court of Appeal for the Fourth District reversed an almost $10 million jury award against Coca-Cola in Hansen v. Coca-Cola Company in a recent unpublished decision. The dispute arises out of the Hansen’s sodas and juice brand (now owned by Coca-Cola) and a trust composed of...

Win for Free Speech and Docudramas in New York

June 28, 2021 2:30 pm PT

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Last week a New York appellate court granted the defendant’s summary judgment motion in Porco v. Lifetime Entertainment Services, the long-running dispute over Lifetime’s ripped-from-the-headlines docudrama Romeo Killer: The Chris Porco Story, which first aired in 2013. This...

Mixed Victory for Jackson Estate in Tax Court

May 18, 2021 4:30 pm PT

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On May 3rd, the U.S. Tax Court issued the long-awaited decision in the long-running litigation over the estate taxes owed by the Michael Jackson estate. In a sweeping 253-page opinion (with additional appendices) the Tax Court, clearly cognizant that this opinion will likely be read by many more...

New York Governor Signs New Postmortem Right of Publicity Bill

December 1, 2020 11:00 am PT

New York Postmortem Right of Publicity Bill Signed Governor Cuomo

On November 30th, 2020, the Governor of New York signed into law a new postmortem provision which for the first time will add a postmortem right to the state's law, lasting 40 years after death. This new law also addresses the unlawful dissemination and publication of "sexually explicit...

The Third Circuit Upholds First Amendment Defense in Video Game Case

October 2, 2020 9:30 am PT

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In a nonprecedential opinion the Third Circuit held that the First Amendment insulates the makers of the video game Gears of War from a right of publicity claim. The case, Hamilton v. Speight, involves a right of publicity claim brought by the plaintiff, Lenwood Hamilton, who...

50 Cent's Right of Publicity Claim Preempted by Copyright Law

August 21, 2020 1:45 pm PT

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Earlier this week, the Second Circuit, in an opinion penned by Judge Pierre Leval, held that a right of publicity claim by rap artist Curtis James Jackson III, better known as 50 Cent, was preempted by federal copyright law. The claim was brought under Connecticut law and arose out of Jackson’s...

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The Book

THE RIGHT OF PUBLICITY: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World

This book from Harvard University Press by Professor Jennifer Rothman traces the history and development of the right of publicity and its current collision course with individual liberty, free speech and copyright law.

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