By Stacy Allen, Emilio B. Nicolas and Megan Honey

Originally viewed as an extension of the right of privacy, the right of publicity has developed into a free-standing property interest in the commercial value of one’s identity (or “persona”). Courts and legislatures have been overwhelmingly unwilling to extend the right of publicity beyond human individuals to non-human “persons” like partnerships and corporations, with the limited exception of music groups.  Despite the weight of precedent, the application of traditional privacy-based limitations upon the right of publicity may come under increasing attack by non-human plaintiffs seeking to expand their available remedies.

This article was published in the Media Law Resource Center Bulletin, 2008, No. 4. To read more, download the article »

© 2008, Media Law Resource Center, Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.