The heirs of Argentinian soccer super star, Diego Maradona, as well as a John Doe identified only by an IP address, have been sued for trademark infringement based on their use of the name “Maradona.” The suit was filed on January 13, 2022, and is just another episode in an ongoing struggle over the rights … Continue Reading
When a celebrity does a good deed or a sports figure achieves a major accomplishment, companies may feel like sending a public “shout out” to that individual – whether it be through a tweet, a Facebook post, or some other media. However, companies need to be very careful that such a reference to the public … Continue Reading
The Ninth Circuit today held en banc that an actor in a movie does not have a copyright interest in his or her performance. In February 2014, a divided panel of the Ninth Circuit overruled the district court and found that an actor in a controversial film about the prophet Mohammed had a copyright interest … Continue Reading
We reported in the past on the right of publicity in the context of tweeting or posting in social media about celebrities without their permission. As we are approaching Halloween, we thought it might be an opportune time to continue this series and report on the postmortem right of publicity for the deceased. Most companies … Continue Reading
With 255 million monthly active Twitter users and more than 1 billion active Facebook users, social media platforms are powerful tools for companies to build relationships with their consumers and share information about their products. Although social media offers companies a wide variety of opportunities to engage consumers, such as through conducting online promotions or … Continue Reading