Louisiana passes Right of Publicity statute, effective Aug. 1, 2022

Louisiana has passed a Right of Publicity statute providing, among other things, 50 years of postmortem recognition. The statutute is designated “the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act” after the notable musician who died in 2015. Here is a link to the statute: Louisiana Right of Publicity statute

Licensing International Executive Voices article

Here is a link to an article I wrote for Licensing International’s Executive Voices series:   https://licensinginternational.org/news/discernment-in-licensing-and-enforcement/

Dr. Fauci doughnuts

A company in New York has begun offering “Dr. Fauci” doughnuts, which apparently involve edible paper on the doughnut with Dr. Fauci’s image printed on it.  Dr. Fauci has become a daily fixture in the coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic and a visible leader in the response and information concerning the outbreak.  Donuts Delite, the company selling the doughnuts on a nationwide basis, reportedly, will continue selling the doughnuts “as long as they are in demand.”  Here is a link to the story:  https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/26/us/dr-fauci-doughnuts-trnd/index.html   Dr. Fauci Doughnuts

Is it okay for Antonio Brown to release a song called “Andrew Luck?”

Sorry to disappoint anyone expecting this blog entry’s title to be answered here, but for a number of reasons, it isn’t. The question can certainly be raised though. Former Steelers, Raiders and Patriots wide received Antonio Brown has released a song or track entitled “Andrew Luck,” which opens with audio from Andrew Luck’s press conference announcing his retirement, and including a repeated refrain with the lyrics:

I got the game and I’m not on stuck
I’m out the way like Andrew Luck
Everybody callin’ my phone, shut up

A while back, Outkast released a song called Rosa Parks. Litigation ensued and Parks won. In short, the song wasn’t about Rosa Parks and the title was deemed a violation of Rosa Parks’ rights. Paraphrasing, a great line from that decision was that “crying artist does not confer carte blanche” to use a person’s name in a way that does not relate to the song, but which certainly serves to bring attention to the track.

There are various other examples. Logic released a song called “Keanu Reeves” which, interestingly and perhaps significantly, does not actually even reference Reeves. Instead, the connection, such as it is, refers to “the one” like Keanu Reeves, which of course is a reference to Reeves’ character Neo in the Matrix film franchise.

The legal test that likely applies best to these facts is the Rogers test, from litigation brought by Ginger Rogers in response a film named “Fred and Ginger.” Rogers lost the claim on the basis that the title was relevant to the film’s title and not simply a ploy to attract attention from Rogers’ name. Conversely, the same test was applied to Outkast’s release of a track called “Rosa Parks.” The lyrics were not about Rosa Parks, and it was determined to be a violation of Parks’ rights and an effort simply to attract attention to the song.

So I’ll leave it to you to decide if Brown’s song “Andrew Luck” is fair, appropriate or permissible, or if it fails the Rodgers test as Outkast’s song did a while back. I expect we’ll never really have this question answered, but it is an interesting reference point to consider in any event.

Here’s a link to the video and a recent interview with Antonio Brown:  Antonio Brown releases track named Andrew Luck