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Category Archives: Publicity Rights
Celebrity publicity rights law will likely give rise to numerous lawsuits in the coming years, as reality television and stars like Kim Kardashian who are famous for being famous bring the worlds of celebrity and business closer and closer together. Publicity rights has developed rapidly since emerging in the 1950s and 1960s, but these days seem to be perfect for celebrities to test how far they can go in protecting their image or brand. Another reality star, Jersey Shore’s Snooki, is involved in a pricey lawsuit over protecting her image. Snooki teamed up with a marketing firm last year to sell various Snooki-related items to the public. She ended the relationship when she felt that the company was not fulfilling its obligations by failing to promote her and associate her with as many brands as possible. Consequently, Snooki brought a $7 million lawsuit against the company. The company counters that…
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Much like businesses protecting their trademarks, celebrities similarly have to be aggressive protecting their publicity rights. While sometimes their actions may come across as a bit overbearing (Apple’s “appstore” lawsuits have received this criticism), companies and celebrities have to do this in order to protect their trademark and publicity rights. If they do not, a court is more likely to rule in favor of defendants, as it may appear that the business or celebrity abandoned or did not care enough about their legal rights. Why should we enforce their rights, a court might reason, if they did not appear to care about them? The maker of an eyelash-lengthener product is facing threats from the Kardashian legal team over her “KardashianLash” product. Sarah Ehrlich applied for a trademark for the name and said that she was planning to donate her proceeds to an orphanage in Honduras, but the Kardashians are not…
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In a post a few weeks ago, we highlighted how valuable celebrity names are, even well after their passing. Celebrities like Michael Jackson or Marilyn Monroe will continue to earn tens or hundreds of million dollars a year after their death. It is up to their heirs to protect their names and the commercial endeavors with which their names become associated. Bob Marley is another celebrity who earns millions after death. He died in 1981 at the age of 36, but he continues to earn about $6 million for his heirs. Marley’s family is now in a trademark infringement and publicity rights battle with Marley’s half-brother, Richard Booker. Marley’s widow and nine of his children claim that Booker has been using Marley’s name in the phrase “Mama Marley” to sell fish, fish and chips, fish cakes, fish fillets and fish sausages, amongst other fish-related products. Booker has also allegedly been…
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