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Law Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [right-of-publicity]

The right of individuals to control commercial use and benefits from their identity or likeness.

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What are the legal repercussions of taking a stranger's picture in public?

With Snapchat and Instagram it is all too easy to abuse picture taking and really inexpensive to snap a photo of an unknowing stranger. If you are in public and will only post pictures online without their permission, can the victim take legal…
Script Kitty
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Do the Ohio sheriffs suing Afroman have any legal standing in their claim of "invasion of privacy and misappropriation of their likenesses" lawsuit?

From this article “Afroman Sued by Sheriffs for Allegedly Profiting from Raid on his Home. Afroman is reportedly being sued by a number of Ohio sheriff deputies for allegedly profiting off the raid they conducted on his home last summer. The Adams…
Digital fire
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Can a celebrity sue someone who takes obnoxious pictures/videos of him in public and uploads onto internet without his permission?

Suppose a celebrity digs his nose or scratches his private part because of sudden itch or performs some unsightly act in public. Someone takes his picture/video and uploads onto internet without his permission. The celebrity is shamed in public. By…
user768421
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Is it legal (US) to target drunk people and interview them to create (commercial) content a.k.a. street interviews?

In some forms of street interviews, people seem to specifically target intoxicated pedestrians, some seemingly exclusively young women, put camera and microphone in their face and try to get them answer very intimate question about their sexual…
srn
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How do laws affect photography of non-humans in public when people may be in the frame?

Given that this is taking place in a public area where one would not have an expectation of privacy, what legal restrictions exist on photography of people where they are not the subject of the photograph? For instance, say that I am taking a…
jimsug
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Are pictures that don't have model releases protected under the DMCA?

Let's say a user of my website posted a picture. I know that as long as my website and the picture satisfies the conditions of the DMCA, I have a safe harbor against copyright claims by the individual who owns the rights to the image. But if it's a…
Jeff Caros
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What is considered "public" in the context of taking videos or audio recordings?

According to the answers in this question it's legal to photograph someone in public without their consent. I'm assuming the answers still hold true for video or audio recording (such as what can be done with a smart phone). What counts as public?…
user791
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Who owns the legal rights to a dead person's likeness?

A comedy sketch featuring an AI likeness of George Carlin, a show which his family are explicitly against (as mentioned in the above article). The writer of the show claims the following, I just want to let you know very clearly that what you’re…
Zibbobz
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Can a platform become a publisher through it's actions?

Platforms such as social media sites are protected under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, this allows platforms to avoid liability for most content posted by its users. Publishers, on the other hand, do not share the same type of…
User37849012643
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Who can check sperm donor history in California?

Let's say Tom was a sperm donor in college. Now he is getting married. Can anyone besides Tom (e.g. Tom's wife) has access to Tom's sperm donation history? Can offspring/family of offspring have access to Tom's personal information? Jurisdiction:…
Maxfield
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Are there legal implications to lying about your sponsors?

Let's say I release a video where I say "sponsored by Company C" even though they never sponsored me. Are there legal implications to lying about that, or is this action protected by the First Amendment? At first, I thought that mentioning Company C…
pushkin
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Does posting a photo of a couple on a website require permission from both people in the photo?

Working on a unique concept website, I am questioning how legal it is and what sort of disclaimer would need to be present in the T&C to remain protected. Basically, a user pays a fee and is allowed to post a message and a picture that will all be…
Lazhar
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What is illegal about my app?

I want to create an app similar to the 4shared Music app that enables downloading MP3 files stored on my server. Features Serves all mp3 files from host server Distributed via Google Play Store Music library searchable by title or artist…
user128279
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Profit from a celebrity domain name if I have the same name?

Here is my situation. I have a fairly unique first/last name in the States but it is common in another country. I live in the States. I own a .com, which is my full name. It is an empty page right now. I own a second website where I sell stuff…
user3485864
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Is selling an autographed mugshot of oneself a violation of Indiana's "Son of Sam" (notoriety-for-profit) law?

Let's hypothetically say a person is arrested and booked into a county jail. During the intake process, their mugshot is taken. Let's also say that later on the arrest makes major news, even beyond local news, like regional and national news, and…
PreacherCoderTroll
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