Alabama
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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The Eleventh Circuit Allows Use of Rosa Parks’ Name and Image on Merchandise
Today, the Eleventh Circuit rejected a lawsuit by the Rosa Parks Institute—which owns the rights to the deceased Park’s name and likeness. The case involved...
Alabama's New Right of Publicity Statute Goes Into Effect and Threatens Free Speech
Alabama's Right of Publicity Act went into effect on August 1, 2015. It is not yet clear what effect the law will have on the common law rights in the state. Of most concern is the expansive language of the statute which includes both for-profit and non-profit uses of any indicia of...
Artwork sold by Target to celebrate the civil rights movement is itself a target – of a right of publicity claim by Rosa Parks’ estate.
A case filed in Alabama, but decided by the district court under Michigan law, where Ms. Parks died, claims that Target’s celebratory plaques that include Parks’ image, as well as that of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. may infringe Rosa Park’s right of publicity. The district court held that...