Using Derek Jeters Name in Advertising/website?

[legaleagle1]

Help! I run a baseball site, and on the main splash page I want to have three photos of baseball fans. Under each persons photo I want to have a quote about the fandom. So for instance one persons would say "I waited in line 6 hours to shake Derek Jeters hand"...or "I camped out to watch the Yankees for 2 days" etc etc.

Subsequently I might use these photos for advertising and banner ads with the quotes. My question, would it be illegal to use a quote involving Derek Jeter or The Yankees in this context? thanks!

[quincy]

No, it would not be illegal to use quotes from fans that refer to a famous person.

The legal problems arise when you use a photo of a famous person. If you did not take the photo and did not get permission to use it, you risk copyright infringement problems with the photographer. In addition, when using a photo of a famous person, you run into publicity rights and/or privacy rights issues with the famous person.

Also, legal problems occur when it appears that a site is sponsored or supported in any way by the famous person - here you run into publicity rights problems and potentially trademark problems.

As long as you do not use Derek Jeter's name to advertise your site or make it appear he is involved with your site in any way, and you stick with the comments made by fans (accurately quoted), you should be okay (as long as you get permission from the fans to use their image and quotes).

To be on the safe side, it is always wise to have an attorney review the content of your site prior to "publishing" it - but, again, your proposed use seems to avoid the legal issues mentioned above.

[legaleagle1]

thx for your excellent reply. What if the people were paid models and we put the quotes up sort of as sarcasm?

[quincy]

First, you would need to get signed releases from the models, so that you can legally use their image on your site. To protect yourself from any potential lawsuit, you should have the model release state the purpose of your use of their image, and for added protection, have the models sign off on any quotes being used with their photos.

If you are "creating" quotes of your own, be careful not to create quotes that would defame the models in any way or defame the famous people you are featuring. An example of what NOT to do, for instance, would be having one of your models saying she caught more than a flyball from one of the Yankees. This could lead to a defamation action against you from both the model AND from the Yankees.

Again, it is always wise to run everything by an attorney prior to putting it online.