What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Minnesota
Hello, i am planning on starting a clothing brand/company and wanted to know if i could get sued or in any legal trouble by using pictures of famous people [specifically The Pope (any of them) and Paula Deen] on clothes that i would sell? The pictures i would be using have been edited by me (using photoshop). Also could i get in trouble for using the word Pope in the name of my brand/company?
Yes, you can get sued for using the names or images of famous people on your clothing.
In the US, individuals have both a right of privacy and a right of publicity. While everyone has a right of privacy, famous people often must give up some of their privacy rights because of the public's interest in them.
But, what famous people lose in privacy rights, they gain in publicity rights - which is the right to control the commercialization of their persona (name, likeness, voice, mannerisms). Famous people often make the majority of their income from endorsements. Their support of a product or service is valuable to a company. Think of Matthew McConauhey and the Lincoln ads, for example. McConauhey was paid a LOT of money to lend himself and his fame to the promotion of the Lincoln brand.
There are currently "Pope Francis" dolls being marketed but whether these will lead to any legal action is a question mark.
The bottom line is that you cannot safely trade off the name or image of another. You would need permission from those whose names and images you wish to use, and this permission generally comes in the form of a license, and these licenses can be expensive.
Two additional notes:
One is that you cannot use photos created by others, even if you photoshop or modify them, because there are copyrights that attach to these photos and any derivatives made from them. You would need permission from the photographer or holder of the copyrights before using these images.
Two is that there is the
possibility of using images of
dead famous people, if no rights are still held in these images (either by the estates of the dead famous people or by the photographers who took photos of them prior to death). Photos of 1923 vintage and earlier are in the public domain - but the names and images of the dead famous people may still have publicity or trademark rights attached.
