Using celebrity pictures in products!?

[quincy]

You're welcome, grafix.

And I wish your son much luck with his art career. Making money as an artist is not always easy, but it sounds like his work is appreciated - and not only by his obviously proud parent.

 

[qbui]

Hello,

Is it ok to use celebrity photos in a piece of software, but not for marketing or promoting.

For instance, it is a piece of software that lets you take a picture of your friends and draw on their faces or something similar. So when you go to choose what picture you want to draw on there would be a few sample pictures you can use if you don't have one of your own and that would be one of say Brat Pitt or Angelina Jolie.

Thanks for the help!
Q

 

[FlyingRon]

No it is not OK, and don't tack on to long dead threads. If you have a question start your own.

 

[quincy]

Ahh, but this was such a good long dead thread, FlyingRon.

 

[Ozark_Sophist]

This smelt like a homework thread from the start. Keep it fresh for the spring semester.

 

[Cupcake]

Celebrity names

hi quincy!

i want to know, is it illegal to use celbrities' names to name your products. i will not use their image nor a sketch or anything that represents them but simply their names? i have a ice-cream shop and would like to name certain ice-creams after certain celebrities. i have seen things being called as elvis (such as cupcakes) or marilyn monroe...so i want to know would i get sued if i name my strawberry ice-cream after Madonna?

 

[quincy]

Hi, Cupcake. You did not provide the name of your state. This is a question asked of all posters, because laws vary significantly from state to state. You also did not start your own thread, which is generally requested of posters who have a new question, even if it relates to the subject of an old post.

But, since no one else seems to be following those rules very well in this particular thread , I might as well answer your question here.

It can violate the rights of the celebrities to use their names to identify your ice cream flavors if you do not obtain permission from these celebrities first. There are publicity right laws and privacy right laws and even trademark laws that protect the names and likenesses, and even the voices and signatures, of individuals.

The right of publicity is the right of a person to control any commercial use of his/her identity and persona. Famous people need to prevent the unlicensed use of their names and likenesses, because their names and likenesses are commercially valuable. In 2008, California expanded their right of publicity law and granted retroactive rights of publicity to dead celebrities, as their names and images can be valuable to their heirs.

New York, on the other hand, has rejected a right to publicity law, for dead or alive celebrities, although New York has a Civil Rights Law that has a section that is similar, in that it protects against the use of a name or likeness for a commercial purpose without written consent.

The right of publicity does not only apply to alive and dead celebrities. This right applies to ordinary folks, as well. Permission must be obtained to use anyone's name or image in a commercial manner. I cannot use your image to sell my coffee.

Privacy laws (which generally cover four separate torts - false light, private facts, intrusion, misappropriation of a name or likeness) make it a crime to misappropriate the name or likeness of an individual for a commercial purpose. State publicity right laws are often bundled with these state privacy laws.

And trademark law can protect the trademarked name and image of a person (or cartoon character or animal) from infringement by others. A celebrity or famous person name or image is often trademarked when the celebrity or famous person has developed and is promoting a product line (ie. Elizabeth Taylor's perfume, Justin Timberlake's clothing line).

Famous names have been used to identify food products for a long time. As early as the 16th century, a pastry was named after a well-known Italian of the time - Marquiz Muzio Frangipani - although few who eat frangipanes today are aware of the origin of their name. Shirley Temples are drinks named after Shirley Temple. Ben and Jerry named one of their ice cream flavors after Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead (Cherry Garcia). And many restaurants frequented by celebrities have "honored" these celebrities by naming sandwiches after them (although presumably with the permission of the celebrity).

Lawsuits have been both won and lost over the use of celebrity names on products. Originators of Love Me Blenders (frozen drinks) won the right to use this name over court protests by the "Love Me Tender" rights holders, but many more lawsuits have been lost, found by the courts to be in violation of one of the rights or laws mentioned above.

When dealing with celebrity names and images, it is always wise to get permission first before using their name in any commercial endeavor. Using a celebrity's name to advertise or promote your ice cream store could attract a lawsuit, although whether any celebrity, including Madonna, would bother suing over the use of their name on your ice cream is anyone's guess. It is possible, but I don't know how probable.

That said, there are probably SOME celebrity names that come with less risk of a lawsuit. Apple, Peaches, Cocoa, Peanut, Clementine, Carrot Top and Meatloaf are all celebrity names, but because the names are food names originally, they can be used. You just cannot connect these names to their human celebrity counterparts in your ads or promotions. And I am not sure Meatloaf ice cream sounds real appetizing, anyway.

 

[Cupcake]

Celebrity names

hi quincy. thank you sooo much for the clarifications! actually i did start my own thread i figured out how to do it also i do not live in the united states but i actually live in Dubai. so i really do not know if the same laws apply but nonetheless i would still like to be sure and definately would not like to get sued

i am not planning to use celebrity images at all, only their names but just want to clarify if i would get in trouble by doing so. i think just to be on the safe side, i would probably need to contact with them.

thanks alot for taking the time out to reply!

 

[quincy]

The laws in Dubai are far different than the laws here in the U.S., Cupcake, so what I wrote above does not really apply to you.

While any use of a celebrity's name for your ice cream could, perhaps, attract the attention of the U.S. celebrity, any legal action would have to be pursued by the celebrity in Dubai under Dubai's laws. The probability of a celebrity going to the time, trouble and expense of taking action against you in Dubai because you named an ice cream flavor after them is, I am guessing, pretty slim. If you were to splash Madonna's name and/or image all over the place when advertising your ice cream, then there may be more of a risk.

But, you really need to check with an attorney in Dubai to see what the legal ramifications of your celebrity-named ice creams could be. Dubai's laws and the laws of the UAE are foreign to me.

You are wise, however, to check into legalities before plunging ahead - it is always a good plan to avoid lawsuits whenever you can.

 

[ericpa2ny]

Celebrity marriage info

Would it be considered misappropriate or against right of privacy to collect public information about celebrity marriages/divorces and display them in a website or app next to a funny illustration of the celebrity? This is all information found on wikipedia or the internet to be used in a parody method. Thank you.

 

[Proserpina]

Would it be considered misappropriate or against right of privacy to collect public information about celebrity marriages/divorces and display them in a website or app next to a funny illustration of the celebrity? This is all information found on wikipedia or the internet to be used in a parody method. Thank you.

Erica, please start your own thread.