Legal Question in Entertainment Law in New York

Re: Unauthorized publications

An unauthorized image may be something that requires legal counsel. Some of the fundamental questions you must ask are: 1) is the image of yourself or someone you know; 2) is the image a photograph to which you own/control a registered copyright?; 3) have you authorized or otherwise sold the rights to this image in some fashion in the past? Legal counsel may be effective in acquiring royalties and other compensation due to you, if the answer to the first two questions is yes and the last one is no. Also you should think of the type of publication which used the image without authorization: what is its circulation?, how much of the image was used?, etc.

My firm routinely deals with such issues and offers consultations at no charge. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to evaluate your situation and determine whether legal action is necessary or desirable. Best of luck with your issue.

Also for your reference:

If the image is of you or someone you know, my firm has drafted an informative article about the �right of publicity�, the right that people have to control the use of their own image http://wrlawfirm.com/Articles/wrm.article.rightofpublicity.html

Also, to give you a sense of the type of awards and damages that can flow from unauthorized use of one�s own image, consider this recent news item and blog entry:

Jury Awards $15.6 Million to Coffee Can Model

Former model, Russell Christoff, was recently awarded a $15.6 million judgment against Nestle USA for use of his image without permission on its Taster's Choice coffee labels. A school teacher in the Bay Area, Christoff posed for a two-hour photo shoot in 1986. He assumed shoot was a bust until he caught a glimpse of his likeness on a coffee jar while shopping at a drug store in 2002. Nestle had begun using his image on Taster's Choice cans in 1986 and sold labels with his likeness in Mexico, South Korea, Japan, Israel, Kuwait and the United States. Christoff sued the Swiss-based food and drink giant alleging Lanham Act violations and right of publicity infringement. During the course of the trial, Christoff had declined a $100,000 settlement offer from the company. Nestle is appealing the Los Angeles County Superior Court jury verdict.

Re: Unauthorized publications

Yes, you should! We have a number of cases right now that we are litigating that involve the same issue. Please feel free to contact me for a free consultation.

Re: Unauthorized publications

Is the image of you, or of something you created. If yes, then you should seek counsel to determine your rights with regard to this matter.

AMW

Re: Unauthorized publications

Did you give anyone else permition to use this image, i.e. did you sell this image or give it to someone else as a gift? You really should seek legal counsel to assist you with this matter

CW