Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Re: Publishing photos without releases

Mr. Stone is absolutely correct. This is a big unknown until your attorney has gone through all the known facts with you. The consequences range from nothing to some serious, costly litigation. People do this all the time and some of them really pay dearly.

Re: Publishing photos without releases

Depends on how notorious, how dead, how newsworthy, whether they find out, whether you can prove you had permisssion, and whether they have money / lawyers / inclination to sue you.

Re: Publishing photos without releases

Much will depend on the nature of your use of the images.

Generally, "art" is protected by the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. while more "commercial" uses are entitled to somewhat less protection.

So, If you're doing something like a gallery-exhibition, you're not likely to draw a lawsuit from these folks, especially if they're "public figures".

If, however, you publish them in a book, magazine, etc., you may be confronted with claims that you're violating their "rights of publicity".

Even more likely to draw a lawsuit would be your commercial use of the images (such as in advertising products, etc.).

Hope this helps.