Lord of the Gadflies: Dispelling Confusion over Celebrity Likeness by Applying the Right of Publicity to Commercial Speech on Social Media
Nicholas Turgiss Celebrities have increasingly used social media to market themselves. This trend has given rise to confusion as to the extent of a celebrity’s right over their own likeness. This article discusses the right of publicity and argues that because celebrity social media accounts have significant commercial aspects, celebrities’ likenesses on those accounts should receive protective commercial speech interests. This article also urges courts to recognize these protective interests in celebrity social media accounts and provide additional protection to smaller social media influencers from the appropriation of their own likenesses. Read Full Text Here
I See It, I Like It, I Want It, I Got It: Ariana Grande’s Right of Publicity Lawsuit Against Forever 21
Alexandra Babkowski In 2019, Ariana Grande filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Forever 21 for violating her right of publicity, a legal construct designed to help celebrities control their identities for commercial use. This right is important to protect in light of the influence of celebrity endorsements and the risk that businesses will misappropriate celebrities’ images because they cannot afford the hefty price tags associated with celebrity endorsement. This Essay argues that under common law, Forever 21’s use of unauthorized photographs of Grande and the look-alike model violate Grande’s right...