Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Intellectual Property

First of all, what do you mean by "a commercial product that will quote famous celebrities?" Like a Chatty Cathy doll with a string, you pull it, and a wire recorder inside the doll repeats some celebrity quotation? Or a jar of nutritional supplements that are supposed to improve your sex life, with alleged celebrity quotes printed on the side panel? Or a game similar to "Trivial Pursuit"?

What celebrities, and what quotes? Live celebrities or dead? Are they endorsing your product? Are the quotes truthful? How do you know the quote was uttered by the celebrity? His press agent? The studio's press agent? Did you interview the celebrities yourself, or did you read the alleged quotes in People magazine? Does the alleged quote disparage the celebrity? Is the celebrity reciting a line from some copyrighted movie script, e.g. "Go ahead -- make my day"?

I think unless you get express permission in writing from the celebrity you are on thin ice, unless the quote is 1) not part of an otherwise copyrighted work; 2) uncontroversial as to that celebrity; 3) correctly attributed to the celebrity; 4) newsworthy, or otherwise a part of the public debate on some public issue; and 4) not an endorsement of your product. Something like Ronald Reagan saying "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," or Bill Clinton saying "Everybody should work hard and play by the rules."

Since you are releasing a commercial product, you will eventually need to sit down with a lawyer and discuss what exactly it is you wish to do.