Tag: Copyright Preemption
California Considers a Digital Replica Law for the Dead
Joining the frenzy of states trying to address concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) and particularly concerns expressed by the recording industry, Assembly Member Rebecca Bauer-Kahan introduced a right of publicity bill in the California legislature, AB 1836, that would add a digital replica provision to California's postmortem right of publicity statute, Cal. Civ. Code §...
Tennessee Governor Signs ELVIS Act, Greatly Expanding State’s Publicity Statute
Yesterday, Governor Bill Lee signed into law the ELVIS Act which replaces the prior right of publicity statute in Tennessee. It goes into effect on July 1st. I analyzed the new law in detail earlier this week. The law uncontroversially adds voice to the enumerated protections but also greatly expands the scope of liability and...
Tennessee Legislature Sends Right of Publicity Bill to Governor’s Desk
Tennessee’s right of publicity law has long been driven by the ghost of Elvis, and is now likely to replace its current statute with the almost inevitable passage of the appropriately titled ELVIS Act (the Ensuring Likeness, Voice, and Image Security Act of 2024) (HB 2091/SB 2096). Last week the bill was sent to the...
House Subcommittee Sends Follow-Up Questions After AI Hearing
After the February 2nd House hearing about AI and how best to address unauthorized use of a person's voice and likeness at the federal level, two members of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet sent me (Prof. Rothman) additional written questions to answer for the record. Representative Issa's questions focused on...
Federal Right of Publicity Takes Center Stage in Senate Hearing on AI
On July 12th, the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held its second hearing about artificial intelligence (AI) and intellectual property, this one was to focus expressly on “copyright” law. Although copyright was mentioned many times during the almost two-hour session and written testimony considered whether the use of unlicensed training data was copyright...
Second Circuit Holds that Copyright Law Preempts Publicity Claims Against Sirius XM
On October 4th, in Melendez v. Sirius XM Radio, Inc., the Second Circuit held that copyright law preempted a performer’s right of publicity claims arising out of Sirius XM’s rebroadcasting and promotion of past Howard Stern shows. The plaintiff, John Edward Melendez, also known as Stuttering John, was a regular participant on The Howard Stern...
Cardi B Wins Jury Verdict against Tattooed Plaintiff
On October 21st, in Brophy v. Almanzar, a jury sided with recording artist Cardi B (aka Belcalis Alamanzar) and rejected a lawsuit brought against her by Kevin Michael Brophy. The dispute arose out of the use of Brophy’s tattoo as a starting point for the cover art of Cardi B’s “career launching” 2016 mixtape Gangsta...
Sacha Baron Cohen Sues Over Unauthorized Ad Campaign
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 company. The complaint sets forth claims for a right of publicity violation...
Coca-Cola Wins Round II as California Appellate Court Reverses Massive Jury Award
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 the real Hubert Hansen’s descendents who claim...
Mixed Victory for Jackson Estate in Tax Court
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 people than the usual tax decision, quotes...