Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Unauthorized use of personal images

Retain a good attorney and pursue legal action. If you are a private person, your claim will likely be grounded on an invasion or privacy claim. If you are a public figure, you may even have a stronger case based on Right of Publicity laws. Most attorneys provide a free initial consultation to evaluate your particular situtation and facts so that you can make an informed decision about your legal rights and the proper course of action to pursue.

Re: Unauthorized use of personal images

It depends. If you were in public (say, on a nude beach) when the picture was taken, you may not have much basis to complain. However, if the picture was taken when you had a reasonable expectation of privacy, you likely have a good case for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Under some circumstances, you may also have a case for invasion of your right of publicity.

The question then becomes who should be named as the defendant. If you don't know who took the pictures or how they got on the web, this can be a problem. The operator of the web site may or may not be a valid defendant, depending upon whether they knew the photos were being used without consent. In many instances, the operators just don't know what is being posted at all and they are typically not liable for the actions of users which are beyond their control.

You didn't provide much in the way of facts, so I can't offer any more detail in my response. Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss this further.

Re: Unauthorized use of personal images

I want to add something to the previous responses. Copyright law provides that the person who took the picture owns it, not the person whose image appears in the photo. So you may not have the ability to get the negatives back, for instance.

Furthermore, if you are a public figure, that fact may actually work against you, not in your favor, if the fact that you appeared nude in front of a camera is a newsworthy fact.

These were the problems Dr. Laura Schlesinger faced when nude pictures of her appeared on the Internet. She lost her case against the web site because an old boyfriend had taken the photos and because her reputation as a moral authority made the pictures newsworthy.