Use of your name

[HEYJUD]

What is the name of your state?
Alabama

The high school my son graduated from is using his name in a sales brochure for a baseball camp. He was not contacted about this and he did not give them the consent to use his name. He does not want to be afflied with this school at all. Can we take legal steps to stop this?

 

[JETX]

What exactly is his name and how do you know that it is HIM that they are naming??

 

[racer72]

It depends on how his name is used. If his name was used as an example, such as "former students include Joe Blow and Bob Jones", there is nothing that can be done. This would be considered fair use of his name. If his name is used for promotional purposes, ie, "Joe Blow recommends this camp", you son would have a cause for action. In either case if he doesn't want his name used, the first step would be a letter to those in charge and ask that his name be removed. It would then be up to how his name is used to determine if other action can be taken.

 

[HEYJUD]

The Brochure

The listing is as follows:

MGM Camp Alumni

Graduates

My Sons's name and others

The brochure is misleading because I had other parents calling me to see if my son was going to be teaching at the camp.

The problem we have with this is that the Baseball Coach dismissed my son from the team the last game of his senior year for missing a practice. Which was stupid but we let it go. The school puts out a media guide every year and previous players that have gone on to play college level are listed with the college they are attending. This coach is such an ******* that he did not put my son's name in it. That being the case we don't want his name associated with this high school at all. I know this all sounds childish, but my son was probably the best athlete that ever played at this school and the coach was mad because he was not consulted about the decision in making the choice of the college my son would attend. My son was All-State and All County in baseball his junior year and was invited to play in a state wide all-star game in which he was chosen the MVP. When this coach dismissed him from the team it made him ineligible for any of awards which he would rightly have received his senior year.
If we write a letter telling them not to use his name and they refuse to stop what recourse do we have?

 

[stephenk]

They are posting the truth. Your son is a graduate of the school. Move on.

 

[HEYJUD]

Still..doesn't seem right

So they can use his name for anything as long as it is listed as "a graduate". I would think that you have the right to your name and someone using it without your consent.