Jennifer Rothman, Guest-Blogging About the Right of Publicity

I'm delighted to report that my friend (and former student) Prof. Jennifer Rothman (Loyola [L.A.] Law School) will be guest-blogging this coming week about the right of publicity. Jennifer has been writing extensively and for a long time about the right of publicity -- as well as about intellectual property more generally, and about other matters -- and she has just published an excellent new Harvard University Press book on the subject, The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World. (She also recently founded an excellent online resource for state-by-state legal research on the right of publicity, Rothman's Roadmap to the Right of Publicity.) I much look forward to Jennifer's posts, and you should, too!

Comments

[bernard11]

Should be interesting.

First question:

Why is it called the right of publicity when it is a right of no publicity?

I admit I didn't know what the right in question was before I looked at Prof. Rothman's blog.

[Eidde]

I think it means the Mueslix people can't say "eat Mueslix cereal, just like Jennifer Rothman does" without her permission.

[bernard11]

But suppose they have documentary evidence. Say they have photographs of her stocking up on Mueslix at the grocery store or, creepier, eating it at home, or a statement from a friend(?) saying, "Ms. Rothman told me she loves Mueslix and eats it for breakfast most days."

Why do the Mueslix people need her permission to publicize that fact?

No doubt we are going to find out. As I said, it should be interesting.

[BrotherMovesOn]

"As I said, it should be interesting."
Yes, Bernard, boundary tort law usually is...
Now get off my website!

[bernard11]

I wasn't aware it was your web site. I must have missed your posts. Sorry.