News & Commentary

First Amendment Protects Use of Olivia de Havilland in FEUD Docudrama

March 26, 2018 2:00 pm PT

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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...

Louisiana Reintroduces Right of Publicity Bill

March 8, 2018 4:15 pm PT

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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...

Seventh Circuit Certifies Question to Indiana Supreme Court in Fantasy Sports Case

March 7, 2018 11:15 am PT

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...

New York Times Article on De Havilland Case

March 6, 2018 10:45 am PT

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Paul Brownfield's article on Olivia de Havilland's lawsuit against FX Network was published in Sunday's New York Times Style Section. It has a wonderful interview with Ms. de Havilland that explains more about her views on the lawsuit. It also has some commentary from me related to the case. ...

L.A. Times Op-Ed: What Does Olivia de Havilland Have Against Allison Janney?

March 1, 2018 11:00 am PT

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My op-ed on the Olivia de Havilland v. FX Networks lawsuit, currently on appeal in California, has been published by the Los Angeles Times and will appear in Sunday's print edition just in time for this year's Oscar's ceremony. If de Havilland succeeds, movies that tell unuathorized stories...

“Simpsonized” Animated Character Held Transformative

February 15, 2018 12:00 pm PT

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Earlier this week, the California Court of Appeal gave a Valentine’s Day present to Twentieth Century Fox, by throwing out a right of publicity lawsuit brought by Frank Sivero. Sivero, a film actor, best known for his work playing mafiosos, objected to a recurring character in the animated...

Thelonious Monk Estate Survives Motion to Dismiss by Brewery

February 1, 2018 4:00 pm PT

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Yesterday, a federal district court in California rejected North Coast Brewing Co's motion to dismiss the right of publicity and false endorsement claims brought by the estate of Thelonious Monk. The estate objects to the company's use of jazz legend Monk's name and likeness on its Brother...

Briefs Rain Down on California Court of Appeal in De Havilland Case

January 26, 2018 1:15 pm PT

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At least five separate amicus briefs have been filed in the expedited appeal in Olivia de Havilland v. FX Networks. I filed an amicus in this case with a number of other law professors in support of FX Networks. We argue that the First Amendment protects the use of real people,...

Law Professors Call for Reversal in De Havilland and the Protection of Biographies and Biographical Films

January 25, 2018 1:30 pm PT

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Yesterday, I filed a brief co-authored with Rebecca Tushnet and Eugene Volokh asking the California Court of Appeal to reverse the trial court’s decision in De Havilland v. FX Networks as to the right of publicity claim. The case, first filed at the end of June last year, involves a...

Fox Moves for a TKO in Lawsuit Brought by Muhammad Ali Estate

January 18, 2018 1:45 pm PT

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Earlier this week Fox filed motions for judgment on the pleadings and an Anti-SLAPP motion to strike in the case brought last fall against it for airing a tribute to the recently deceased boxing great Muhammad Ali before its broadcast of the 2017 Superbowl. I previously expressed the view that the...

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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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