The Right of Publicity: History, Trends and Issues

Ever since its birth over a century ago, the Right of Publicity has been a confusing array of various state-based rules. Unlike copyright or trademark law, it is not based on a federal statute. Unlike other privacy torts, it is a property right and one that involves publicity of a celebrity's name or likeness, rather than privacy from those uses. Once primarily a common law subject, it is more statutory based, depending on the state. The courts have adopted at least four different tests to determine the scope of this right.

This 60-minute class, presented by Fordham University Professor Mark Conrad, will explore the history, the difficulty, the trends and latest cases, as well as the future of this difficult to define and more difficult to apply legal right. Interspersed with the lecture will be examples of cases for debate and thought.

Learning Objectives:

1. Distinguish between the Right of Publicity and other intellectual property
2. Review the variation of state laws and judicial tests
3. Identify the constituent tensions between the publicity right and the First Amendment