Preemption question: Copyright v. Right of Publicity

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Maloney v. T3 Media, Inc., Case No. 15-55630 (9th Cir. April 5, 2017), recently issued the latest installment in the age-old supposed showdown between Copyright and the Right of Publicity and the issue of preemption.  The Court states in the holding that preemption can occur “when a likeness has been captured in a copyrighted artistic visual work and the work itself is being distributed for personal use.”

To be clear, copyright does not automatically preempt the Right of Publicity.  The two doctrines protect distinct interests and, have separate policy purposes.  Preemption generally requires a very specific fact pattern.  The assumption seems to be that if the Right of Publicity co-exists in tandem with a copyright interest, preemption must be applicable.  That is not the case, and there are countless examples of uses, situations and fact patterns where various rights or interests apply simultaneously without one preempting the other.  I read Maloney as a fairly confined, and specific ruling on a distinct fact pattern.

Here is a link to an article with more elaboration on the specifics of the case:

http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=00561f3d-b251-4058-af0a-09c44e88fb22&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2017-04-12&utm_term=

9th Circuit grants and files amici brief in Jimi Hendrix case, RightOfPublicity.com and Luminary Group’s Jonathan Faber contributor

In advance of the upcoming hearing in the Jimi Hendrix appeal, I have just been informed that the Ninth Circuit has granted and filed the amici brief that RightOfPublicity.com’s Jonathan Faber contributed to on behalf of Luminary Group LLC and its clients.  Should be an interesting case to monitor.