Legal Question in Entertainment Law in Massachusetts
Say a minor independently solicits a number a celebrities for autographed photos and personal recipes for a planned charity cookbook. And say after receiving the autographed photos and other items (along with the personal recipes), the minor, who acted independently without any formal request or foreknowledge from any specific charity, loses interest in the project and decides never to pursue publish the book. My question is this, can the minor, who's now an adult, sell or somehow financially profit from the celebrities' donated items and recipes without informing the celebrities or actually using their donations for charity?
1 Answer from Attorneys
More information is needed to give a true answer. If you received the autographs and the receipes for a charity cookbook and the consent was given solely on that basis, you cannot publish a cookbook for profit or otherwise use the items without being subject to a claim by the celebrities.
You may have a way to make some money as the publisher and editor of the book, provided that the bulk of the profit from the book goes to a charity.
If you want to discuss the matter further, please feel free to contact me. One thing, is that an attorney would have to review the consent and the information given and your request to decide on what limitations there are on your use of the information.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
