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Filmmaker Loses Publicity Claim; Can Proceed With Infringement Claim
Florida law does not prevent broadcasters from using a filmmaker's name to introduce his film, regardless of whether the broadcast is authorized, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida found. U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke dismissed Cuban filmmaker Yosmani Acosta's claim that Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. and its Mega TV channel violated the right of publicity law by using Acosta's name during a broadcast. Acosta v. Mega Media Holdings Inc., 1:2015cv21837.
Acosta argued his identity was being used to promote Mega TV and the program Mega Cine , which allegedly broadcast his film Pablo in 2013. But District Judge Cooke agreed with a federal magistrate's finding: The right of publicity law prevents the unauthorized commercial use of someone's name or likeness only if it's separate from the publication of the film, news story or novel.
If mentioning a filmmaker's name during a TV program about movies were a violation of the statute, “Siskel and Ebert would have never existed,” says James Sammataro, a Stroock & Stroock & Lavan partner in Miami who represents the Spanish Broadcasting System.
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