Legal Question in Technology Law in Illinois
I have a website that is in blog format and I post daily videos of stand-up comedians. I want to really advertise this and link it to related sites dealing with comedy. If I start making money from the traffic with ads am I going to have legal issues due to using videos of comedians from the web?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Perhaps, but with good legal advice on copyrights and trademarks, you should be able to avoid serious legal problems. There are ways to accomplish what you want legally. What you say you are doing with daily videos is risky and could pose problems. Linking is usually much less risky, depending on how you do it. You need advice from an Illinois intellectual property law attorney. A few dollars for legal advice could save you serious problems later.
You should be aware of the ILLINOIS RIGHT OF PUBLICITY ACT (765 ILCS 1075)
That act provides that, "the public use or holding out of an individual's identity (which is defined in the Act as "any attribute of an individual that serves to identify that individual to an ordinary, reasonable viewer or listener, including but not limited to (i) name, (ii) signature, (iii) photograph, (iv) image, (v) likeness, or (vi) voice") (i) on or in connection with the offering for sale or sale of a product, merchandise, goods, or services; (ii) for purposes of advertising or promoting products, merchandise, goods, or services; or (iii) for the purpose of fundraising during the individual's lifetime without having obtained previous written consent from the appropriate person or persons may be liable for either of the following, whichever is greater; (1) actual damages, profits derived from the unauthorized use, or both; or (2) $1,000. In addition, punitive damages may be awarded against a person found to have willfully violated the Act.
THE ABOVE ADVICE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INTENDED TO CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS REGARDING ANY MATERIAL PRESENTED HEREIN, I RECOMMEND THAT YOU CONSULT AN ATTORNEY. THIS INFORMATION IS BEING PROVIDED BY AN ATTORNEY IN ACTIVE PRACTICE IN THE STATE OF ILLINOIS AND CURRENTLY HOLDS AN ACTIVE LAW LICENSE IN THAT STATE ONLY.