Page Number
187
Abstract
The right of publicity protects against the appropriation of an individual's name and likeness for purely commercial purposes. The right was first formally recognized under the rubric of the right of publicity in 1953. The cause of action is now characterized by its ill-defined legal parameters both in terms of its scope of coverage and whether, and for what period, the right survives post-mortem. Courts and state legislatures have produced a patchwork of widely divergent approaches to these issues and have struggled to define the lines of demarcation between the right of publicity and the First Amendment right to freely publish that which is expressive, newsworthy, and of legitimate public interest.
The haphazard development of the right has been fueled by the explosion of "celebrityhood" and the rise of a myriad of media outlets where public recognition is frequently a fleeting commodity. Justifications for the recognition of the right of publicity have been several and varied, ranging from economic apologies to the philosophical concept of self-autonomy. This article espouses a unified justification for recognition of the right and reviews the recent landmark decisions defining the parameters of First Amendment protection for nonconsensual, uncompensated use of name and likeness.
Recommended Citation
Emerson, Andrew F.
(2015)
"Aunt Jemima's Final Stand, but Elvis Has Not Left the Building: In Search of Moorings for the Right of Publicity and the Landes-Posner Safe Harbor,"
Denver Sports & Entertainment Law Journal: Vol. 18:
Iss.
1, Article 7.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/selj/vol18/iss1/7