60 Minutes “A Living For the Dead” updated segment includes Luminary Group
The Right of Publicity was part of 60 Minutes’ season premier episode on Sunday, September 27, 2009, in a segment captioned “A Living For The Dead” which, in updated segments, included reference to Luminary Group and the celebrity clients it represents. I’ve been contacted concerning inaccuracies that the story conveyed. Mostly missing from the story was the idea that representing deceased personalities, in conjunction with the heirs of those personalities, involves an effort to protect and further the legacy of that person, and in many cases the causes which were important to him or her. It isn’t just about money, as the angle of the story seemed to emphasize. There were a few missed opportunities to enlighten the public of the importance of the right of publicity and the work that at least some put into representing departed legends. Here is a link to the CBS story: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5345034n
Claims Advisor runs article by Jonathan Faber concerning IP liability including Right of Publicity
The most recent edition of Claims Advisor includes an article I authored concerning how new technologies are raising interesting scenarios that could trigger intellectual property liability. Here is a link to the article:
http://www.claimsadvisor.com/Articles/?i=92
http://www.RightofPublicity.com
Courtney Love To Sue Activision Over Kurt Cobain’s Inclusion in Guitar Hero 5
It should be apparent to even a casual observer that video games seem to be causing a lot of litigation lately. The latest entry is Courtney Love’s stated intention to sue Activision for its inclusion of Kurt Cobain’s image and likeness (i.e. his Right of Publicity) in Guitar Hero 5. Apparently, Guitar Hero 5 is the first to include some of Nirvana’s signature songs. The songs are not the real issue, however, because an avatar of Kurt Cobain can also be accessed and used to perform other songs besides just the Nirvana material. This scenario creates the possibility that Cobain can be manipulated to perform songs that the real Kurt Cobain might have preferred to never perform. A few years ago, Courtney Love sold her share, or at least majority share, in the Nirvana catalog. The answer may lie in that transaction, and whether it included the right to license and commercialize Cobain’s name, image and likeness. There is at least a chance that the agreement allowed such use, especially if it is in context of licensing the music. Let the debate over unforeseen consequences begin! Here is one link to the topic:
http://www.rightofpublicity.com