News & Commentary

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...

Whitney Houston Estate Settles with IRS over Right of Publicity Valuation

January 5, 2018 2:00 pm PT

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The Whitney Houston estate and the IRS have settled their dispute over the value of the Grammy award-winner’s estate. The more than $11 million dollar disagreement in the amount of taxes owed centered on the valuation of Houston’s intellectual property rights, and particularly the value of her...

Amazon Beats Right of Publicity Claim for Use of Photograph on Book Cover

November 29, 2017 11:15 am PT

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Last week the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Roe v. Amazon held that booksellers Amazon.com, and Barnes & Noble (among others) could not be held liable for violating the privacy and publicity rights of a couple whose image was used without permission on the cover of an erotic novel...

Company that Owns Muhammad Ali sues Fox over Tribute to Late Boxer

October 10, 2017 3:15 pm PT

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The company that owns and manages former boxing great Muhammad Ali's right of publicity and trademarks has sued Fox Broadcasting in federal district court in Illinois. The complaint filed today claims that Fox's broadcast of a memorial to Muhammad Ali leading up to the broadcast of the 2017 Super...

Major Victory for Fantasy Sports against College Athletes

October 6, 2017 4:00 pm PT

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Last week while a California trial court let the right of publicity run roughshod over the First Amendment in a case involving a docudrama, an Indiana district court in Daniels v. Fanduel rejected the right of publicity claims brought by former NCAA football players, Akeem Daniels, Cameron...

The Plot (and Feud) Thickens

October 4, 2017 10:45 am PT

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On Friday, a California superior court agreed with two-time Oscar winner Olivia de Havilland that her lawsuit against FX Networks could proceed. FX had sought to put a swift end to her lawsuit arising out of her portrayal in the network’s critically acclaimed miniseries, Feud. The series...

Jazz Great Thelonious Monk’s Heir Objects to Brother Thelonious Beer

August 31, 2017 2:45 pm PT

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Earlier this week, Thelonious Monk, Jr. filed a lawsuit against North Coast Brewing Co. in the federal district court of California for allegedly using his father, the great jazz musician Thelonious Monk’s name, likeness, and image on its beer labels, for its brand name, and in advertising and...

Another Actor Fights Back Against Nude Photos

August 30, 2017 12:30 pm PT

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An unknown, but allegedly famous television actress has sued a website for posting nude photographs of her on its website and using her name to drive traffic to a pornographic site. The complaint in Jane Doe v. Roe Corporation was filed in a Los Angeles superior court. It alleges a violation of...

Olivia de Havilland Back in the Spotlight

July 5, 2017 3:15 pm PT

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One of Hollywood’s most successful plaintiffs and actresses is at it again. Olivia de Havilland, the two-time Oscar winner, who appeared in such Hollywood classics as Gone with the Wind and The Heiress, has sued FX Networks and Ryan Murphy in California Superior Court over her...

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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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