[Rumori] rosa parks suing Outkast

[stAllio! the original wanksta]

--- Samuel Carey <discosammy at yahoo.com> wrote:
> maybe i'm a complete and utter moron here, but how the hell can you
> stop people from writing songs about you?

do a google search for "right of publicity".  for example,
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/publicity.html

this is one of the lesser-known gray areas of first amendment law. 
basically, the concept of the right to publicity is that YOU (or your
estate, etc) are the only person who has the right to profit off of
your name, your likeness, stuff like that.

let's say that you're really famous.  everyone loves you & recognizes
your face.  then i, as some unscrupulous person who has never met you,
put out a product like Samuel Carey Brand Soylent Green & slap your
smiling face on the jar.  in effect, i would be using your name &
likeness to profit without your permission, & people who didn't know
better would likely assume that you endorse the product.  the concept
of the right of publicity would allow you to sue me & make me stop.

this is the legal principle rosa parks is using to sue outkast.  in
this case i think it's stupid, but oh well. 

keep in mind that the supreme court allowing the case to proceed does
not necessarily mean the supremes think rosa is right; it only means
there is enough merit in the case to allow it to continue.  there is no
federal standard for right of publicity, after all.  it's typically a
state or common law issue.

=====
"snitchin' is bitchin'"
http://www.animalswithinanimals.com
http://badtastesucks.com

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