US right of publicity laws: what every non-US attorney should know

摘要

Virtually all lawyers who clear advertisements and promotional materials are familiar with the basics of US patent, copyright, trademark, false advertising, and defamation laws. Fewer, however, understand another form of intellectual property, the "right of publicity," which exists, in a variety of forms, in all 50 states. The complexity of and variations among these laws present special challenges to advertisers - particularly those who promote their products via the internet generally and in social media specifically.