Tiffany L. Morris
Paper Outline
October 13, 2006
Preliminary Outline
Issue: Can the right of publicity co-exist with the First Amendment?
Answer: No.
1)Introduction
a)Frame question
b)Clarify that essay is not about whether the right of publicity should exist, but whether there is an appropriate analysis that takes into account first amendment protections
2)What is the right of publicity?
a)Discuss history of right of publicity
i)Haelen
b)Discuss rationale for right of publicity
i)Economic – labor/desert theory
ii)Moral – free riding
c)How does it work?
i)Statutes – states
3)First Amendment
a)Frame basic tenets of first amendment law
b)Discuss how the first amendment and the right of publicity intersect
c)Key cases:
i)Rosa Parks
ii)Cardtoons
iii)Comedy III
4)What are the tests for the right of publicity – comparative
a)Balancing test – Cardtoons
b)Transformative test – Comedy III
c)Actual malice – Hoffman
d)Predominant purpose – TCI Cablevision
5)How do these tests compromise free speech?
a)Viewpoint discrimination
b)Permit celebrities to control image and commentary
i)Hence, minority controls what is appropriate social commentary
6)What is the solution?
a)To be determined
b)Discuss distinctions between right of publicity and traditional property rights
Preliminary Sources
Brown, Jeffrey. “Defending the Right of Publicity: A Natural Rights Perspective,” Intellectual Property Bulletin, Spring 2006.
Fanke, Gloria. “The Right of Publicity vs. the First Amendment: Will One Test Ever Capture the Starring Role?,” Southern California Law Review, May 2006.
Jackson, Traci S. “How Far Is Too Far? The Extension of the Right of Publicity to a Form of Intellectual Property Comparable to Trademark/Copyright,” Tulane Journal of Technology and Intellectual Property, 2004.
Jones, Russell. “The Flip Side of Privacy: The Right of Publicity, the First Amendment, and Constitutional Line Drawing – A Presumptive Approach,” Creighton Law Review, June 2006.
Kruse, Michael S. “Missouri’s Interfacing of the First Amendment and the Right of Publicity: Is the ‘Predominant Purpose’ Test Really That Desirable?,” Missouri Law Review, 2004.
Levine, Jason K. “Can the Right of Publicity Afford Free Speech? A New Right of Publicity Test for First Amendment Cases,” Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal, 2004.
McCarthy, J. Thomas. The Rights of Publicity and Privacy (2d ed. 2006).
Suppapolla, Michael. “Is Tiger Woods’s Swing Really a Work of Art? Defining the Line Between the Right of Publicity and the First Amendment,” New England Law Review, 2004.
Brinkley v. Casablancas
Simeonov v. Tiegs
Cardtoons, L.C. v. Major League Baseball Players Association
Comedy III Productions, Inc. v. Gary Saderup, Inc.
Doe v. TCI Cablevision
ETW Corp. v. Jireh Publishing, Inc.
Haelen Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum
Hoffman v. Capital Cities/ABC, Inc.
Lloyd v. Tanner
Nieves v. Home Box Office
Nussenzweig v. diCorcia
Rogers v. Grimaldi
Rosa Parks v. LaFace Records
Tyne v. Time Warner Entertainment Co.
Wendt v. Host International, Inc.
White v. Samsung Electronics America, Inc.
Zacchini v. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Company