Getting The Deal Through logo
Getting The Deal Through

    Expand All / Collapse All

  • 1.

    Right of publicity
    Is the right of publicity recognised?

  • 2.

    Principal legal sources
    What are the principal legal sources for the right of publicity?

  • 3.

    How is the right enforced? Which courts have jurisdiction?

  • 4.

    Other relevant rights
    Are there other rights or laws that provide a claim based on use of a person’s name, picture, likeness or identifying characteristics?

  • 5.

    Protectable aspects
    What aspects of a person’s identity are protectable under the right of publicity?

  • 6.

    Do individuals need to commercialise their identity to have a protectable right of publicity?

  • 7.

    Foreign citizens
    May a foreign citizen protect a right of publicity under the law of your jurisdiction?

  • 8.

    Registration requirements
    Is registration or public notice required or permitted for protection of the right? If so, what is the procedure and what are the fees for registration or public notice?

  • 9.

    Protection after death
    Is the right protected after the individual’s death? For how long? Must the right have been exercised while the individual was alive?

  • 10.

    Can the right be transferred? In what circumstances?

  • 11.

    Can the right be licensed? In what circumstances?

  • 12.

    If the right is sold or licensed, who may sue for infringement?

  • 13.

    Post-mortem rights
    If post-mortem rights are recognised, are they limited to natural heirs or can they be enforced under a contract by an assignee or left to an entity?

  • 14.

    Recommended actions
    Are there any actions that rights owners should take to ensure their rights are fully protected?

  • 15.

    Right infringement
    What constitutes infringement of the right?

  • 16.

    Excluded formats
    Are certain formats of intellectual property excluded from claims based on the right of publicity? What is the legal basis of the exclusions?

  • 17.

    Infringement claim requirements
    Is knowledge or intent to violate the right necessary for a finding of infringement?

  • 18.

    Liability of media
    Does liability extend to media publishing content created by an advertiser and website operators publishing posts by third parties? Does republishing or retweeting or other social media propagation of existing content give rise to liability?

  • 19.

    Available remedies
    What remedies are available to an owner of the right of publicity against an infringer? Are monetary damages available?

  • 20.

    Time limits
    Is there a time limit for seeking remedies?

  • 21.

    Attorneys’ fees
    Are attorneys’ fees and costs available? In what circumstances?

  • 22.

    Punitive damages
    Are punitive damages available? If so, under what conditions?

  • 23.

    Preliminary relief
    Is preliminary relief available? If so, what preliminary measures are available and under what conditions?

  • 24.

    Damages measures
    What are the measures of damages?

  • 25.

    Significant case law
    What significant judgments have recently been awarded for infringement of the right?

  • 26.

    Relevant fora
    In what forum are right of publicity infringement proceedings held?

  • 27.

    Use of juries
    Are disputes decided by a judge or a jury? Are damages determined by a judge or a jury?

  • 28.

    Applicable law
    How is the choice of applicable law determined?

  • 29.

    Consideration of foreign decisions
    To what extent are courts willing to consider, or bound by, the opinions of other national or foreign courts that have handed down decisions in similar cases?

  • 30.

    What avenues of appeal are available in main proceedings or preliminary injunction proceedings? Under what conditions?

  • 31.

    Average cost and time frame
    What is the average cost and time frame for a first-instance decision, for a preliminary injunction, and for appeal proceedings?

  • Updates and trends

View profile


View more information about Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, PC

New York
28 Liberty Street
35th Floor
NY 10005
New York
T: +1 212 980 0120
F: +1 212 593 9175


Briefing Signup


Sign up to be notified of new content



Follow us on LinkedIn