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Expansion of Right of Publicity Continues To Create Tensions with First Amendment

Broadly defined, the right of publicity is a person's right to control the commercial use of his or her identity. It has been over half a century since the term "right of publicity" was first coined by Judge Jerome Frank in 1953. Since that time, courts have been struggling to define the scope of the right of publicity protection, and to resolve the inherent conflicts between the right of publicity and the freedom of expression embodied in the First Amendment.

12 minute read February 24, 2010 at 02:32 PM
By
William Sloan Coats And Jennifer P. Gossain
Expansion of Right of Publicity Continues To Create Tensions with First Amendment

Broadly defined, the right of publicity is a person's right to control the commercial use of his or her identity. It has been over half a century since the term “right of publicity” was first coined by Judge Jerome Frank in 1953. (See, Haelan Laboratories v.

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