Trademark
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.
Now Available
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...
Who Owns You When You are Dead
The video has finally been posted from my July talk about postmortem rights of publicity for the USPTO’s National Trademark Exposition...
DJ Khaled Sues Over Use of His Son's Name
Last week Khaled M. Khaled, known popularly as DJ Khaled, and the company ATK Entertainment filed a ...
Thelonious Monk Estate Survives Motion to Dismiss by Brewery
Yesterday, a federal district court in California rejected North Coast Brewing Co's motion to dismiss the right of publicity and false...
Jazz Great Thelonious Monk’s Heir Objects to Brother Thelonious Beer
Earlier this week, Thelonious Monk, Jr. filed a lawsuit against North Coast Brewing Co. in the federal district court of California for...
Child Star Chachi’s Lawsuit Against her Mother is Dismissed
Olivia “Chachi” Gonzales, 19, is best known for her appearance and victory on MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew” in 2011. Chachi designed her own dance apparel and started selling “Chachimomma” pants similar to ones that she made popular by wearing them on the TV show. While Chachi was a...
REVISED -- L.A. Court Allows Reese Witherspoon to Proceed with Right of Publicity Claim Against Jeweler
(Revised to reflect final court order)
On Tuesday, a court ruled that Reese Witherspoon could proceed with her right of publicity claims against a number of defendants who had used her name and image to sell various products, particularly jewelery. One company allegedly named an...
Beyonce, Pharrell, Rihanna, Jay-Z, and Kanye West Sue Over Use of their Images and Names on Merchandise
These megastars sued Eleven LLC for using their names and images in a variety of merchandise, including t-shirts, hats, and cell phone covers. Some of the images evoked Hitler and some of the items used lyrics from the artists’ songs. The plaintiffs’ complaint includes claims for violations of...