Popular, Name and Likeness, Celebrities

NIL Isn't Just For Athletes — Securing "Name, Image, and Likeness Rights" in Marketing

Potomac Law Group, PLLC on 7/9/2025

You need “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) rights to use an individual’s name, voice, image, or AI replica. The Internet and social media have rapidly multiplied the ways companies can promote their businesses and products,...more

Turn the Trademarks Off: The Trademarks of Kendrick Lamar, SZA, and Beyonce

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on 6/4/2025

On May 9, 2025, I sat in a crowded football stadium for the sold-out second night of the Grand National Tour concert featuring Kendrick Lamar and SZA (the stage name of Solána Rowe). As I listened to those iconic artists...more

Unique IP Concerns When Celebrities and Athletes Are Involved in NFT Projects

Venable LLP on 7/28/2022

Given the recent rise in the popularity and profitability of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), celebrities have entered the market not only by purchasing NFTs, but also by minting their own. However, because NFTs often involve the...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Ye Is the Latest Musician to Forge a Collaboration With a Fast Food Restaurant, and Kim...

Foster Garvey PC on 5/27/2022

I did not want to write this week. What more can I say other than what has already been said after yet another callous, atrocious, evil, and (perhaps worst of all) familiar mass shooting in this country? Since this is a...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Nickelodeon is Set to Broadcast a National Football League Game on Christmas Day, and Formula 1...

Foster Garvey PC on 5/13/2022

Welcome back to the "Sports & Entertainment Spotlight," your 30,000 foot view of the various goings-on in the sports and entertainment industries. This week, I am writing from, well, 30,000 feet flying cross country to soak...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: College Athletes Use NIL Opportunities to Create Bidding War, and Power Couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé...

Foster Garvey PC on 5/6/2022

Live from New York it’s…wait, that’s not right. Two weeks off, and I’ve forgotten how I open these…ah, yes… Welcome back (both to me and to you) to the “Spotlight.” I would love to be able to say that my batteries are fully...more

Universal Music Group’s Blockbuster IPO on European Stock Exchange Signals Music Biz Resurgence

Foster Garvey PC on 9/24/2021

- There is that sweet sound of music as Universal Music Group’s IPO debuted as the largest in the history of the music business, with the listing on Euronext Amsterdam valuing the company at more than $53 billion. The stock’s...more

Ongoing Strife Between Studios and Talent Continues as Christopher Nolan Ends Nearly Two-Decade-Long Relationship With Warner...

Foster Garvey PC on 9/17/2021

- Esteemed filmmaker Christopher Nolan’s decision to leave his 19-year-long relationship with Warner Bros. for Universal to make his next film (about Robert Oppenheimer and the creation of an atomic bomb) continues to...more

NFTs and the Right of Publicity: Assessing the Legal Risks

Latham & Watkins LLP on 8/16/2021

NFT creators should craft strategies to avoid minting or auctioning NFTs that use the likeness of an individual without their consent. As non-fungible tokens (NFTs) increase in popularity, the so-called common law “right of...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Can Celebrity Endorsements Influence Perceptions Around the COVID-19 Vaccine?

Foster Garvey PC on 8/13/2021

- As the pandemic continues, the question arises: Could celebrities be the key to getting the country vaccinated? - Seemingly everyone is coming up a winner in the music business with the top three major companies bringing...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: The Steady Evolution of Athlete Endorsement and Sponsorship Markets and the Latest Household...

Foster Garvey PC on 8/6/2021

Some of this week's highlights include: - Emerging trends are showing signs of change in the sponsorships and endorsement markets. A segment once largely overlooked, athletes in the LGBTQ+ community are finally ringing in...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: Risks of NIL Pitfalls Prove Greater Than ‘NIL’

Foster Garvey PC on 7/16/2021

Just two weeks into the name, image, and likeness (NIL) era in college sports, and we are already starting to see not only novel and creative partnerships, but also the emergence of legal gray areas and pitfalls for college...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight: What the Supreme Court Ruling in Alston v. NCAA Means for the Future of College Sports

Foster Garvey PC on 6/24/2021

“The NCAA is not above the law.” Those seven words capped Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s searing concurring opinion issued in connection with Monday’s (June 21) unanimous (9-0) U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Alston v. National...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight - May 2021 #4

Foster Garvey PC on 5/28/2021

Throughout the United States, people are eagerly preparing for this Memorial Day Weekend (MDW), which marks the unofficial start of summer (not to mention those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the country). If you listen...more

Sports & Entertainment Spotlight - April 2021 #3

Foster Garvey PC on 4/15/2021

“Happy” Tax Day to those of you here in the United States celebrating/commiserating (noting of course that certain taxpayers have until May 17 to file their returns this year). Like taxes, this installment of the Spotlight...more

Was Missguided Misguided? Kim Kardashian West Obtains $2.7 Million Judgment in Right of Publicity and Trademark Suit

International Lawyers Network on 9/19/2019

A federal district court in California has awarded a $2.7-million default judgment to Kim Kardashian West in her lawsuit against a fast fashion online retailer that allegedly used her persona and likeness to sell its...more

Celebrities, personality rights and privacy: what marketers need to know about permission

Smart & Biggar on 1/17/2018

William Shatner made headlines in November when he took to Twitter to express his displeasure that his name and likeness were used without his permission to promote a condo development in Hamilton, Ontario. The development in...more

The Internet Stole My Face: New Advances in Technology Could Make Everyone a Digital Video Puppet

Pillsbury - Internet & Social Media Law Blog on 8/31/2017

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” Edgar Alan Poe wrote those words over a century ago, yet if he were alive today he may opt for the darker: “Believe nothing you hear and nothing you see.” Over the...more

Can’t Say “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” for Copying Me

Knobbe Martens on 7/4/2017

On June 1, 2017, noted music and fashion photographer Danny Clinch filed suit in the Southern District of New York in connection with the use of two photographs of famed rapper Tupac Shukar (“Tupac”) on t-shirts. The...more

Celebrity Brands: The Line Between Fair Use and Infringement

Jaburg Wilk on 12/15/2016

All brand owners are faced with difficult decisions regarding how aggressively to police their brands. The decision is particularly difficult when the unauthorized use is by a loyal customer or fan. While some traditional...more

Celebrity Trademark Watch: Who Owns Marilyn Monroe’s Image? – Right of Publicity vs. Trademark Rights

In her posthumously published autobiography, My Story, screen legend Marilyn Monroe wrote: “I knew I belonged to the public and to the world, not because I was talented or even beautiful but because I had never belonged to...more

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