Anderson Curry

Artificial Intelligence “Right of Publicity” Violations Using a famous person's picture, video, nickname, pseudonym, voice, signature, or likeness without their permission to sell your products and services can constitute a violation of their right of publicity, also known as personality rights. I see this all the time on social media, especially on Instagram and TikTok. How about you? The right of publicity protects an individual's image, name, likeness, and voice from unauthorized commercial use. It is important to note that the right of publicity is governed by state laws in the United States, and the specifics of these laws can vary between states. For example, in California, the right of publicity is primarily governed by the Civil Code Section 3344, which addresses the unauthorized use of a person's name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness in advertising or for soliciting sales or endorsements without their prior consent. In countries beyond the United States, rights similar to the right of publicity are often referred to as "personality rights," "rights of persona," or other comparable terms. The origin and extent of these rights can differ significantly. In addition to the right of publicity, unauthorized use of a famous person's image or voice could also potentially infringe on their trademark rights if their name, image, or likeness has been registered as a trademark. I encourage everyone to report obvious inappropriate commercial posts that you believe may violate someone's right of publicity to the platform and if you have time, to the celebrity's representative (usually just a Google or ChatGPT search away). @mitchjackson 2013 California Litigation Lawyer of the Year PS- In case you’re wondering, my use of this AI generated image in this post is authorized under several doctrines including the Fair Use Doctrine. Simply put, this legal principle allows limited use of certain IP protected material without obtaining permission from the rights holder, typically for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research.