Harris Faulkner Hamster Case Settles
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.
No surprise here. As I predicted, Hasbro and Harris Faulkner have reached a settlement only a few months after a district court in New Jersey denied Habsro's motion to dismiss. The claim that the toy hamster looked anything like the Fox news reporter was always a stretch, but because the name-based right of publicity claim had a good chance of success this one was smart to settle. It is hard to imagine someone at Hasbro coming up with such a unique name in a vacuum.
The settlement amount has not been disclosed. New Harris Faulkner hamsters are not being made, but three new ones remain on Amazon -- when I posted in July there were 11 left. So act quick. The price on ebay appears to be rising.