Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Investment Chat Board Lawsuits -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mahatmabenfoo who wrote (4754)	6/24/2003 12:23:08 PM
From: Anthony@Pacific	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12465

i suppose you and dobry should team up....sellin my likeness is illegal in illinos....i didnt make the laws

To: Mahatmabenfoo who wrote (4754)	6/24/2003 12:48:00 PM
From: Patricia	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 12465

This post is to no one in particular. Just for information purposes and seeing as how I am interested in Illinois, it got my attention to research the subject of likeness pictures and the law in Illinois. 216.239.51.100 Southern Illinois University School of Law -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Legalities Legalities, a weekly column that appears in the Help section of the Southern Illinoisan, is a free service of the Self Help Legal Center. You can visit the Southern Illinoisan website at: southernillinoisan.com Q: I took a picture at a local fair and want to use that picture for a brochure for our company. My boss told me that you have to get the permission of everyone in the picture before you can do this. Is this right? What would happen to me if I don’t? A: Your boss may be right. Most of the time, you don’t need permission to use a photograph of a person in a public place if your use: a) is informational. An informational photo is one used to elaborate or illustrate a story or article. b) doesn’t invade the person’s privacy. An example of invading a person’s privacy would be using a hidden camera or using a photo that depicts a very personal or potentially embarrassing activity. c) is not defamatory. If your photo creates a false impression that injures someone’s reputation, you could be liable for defamation or libel. There are also some exceptions for public figures and people who have become the subject of a public controversy. You will need permission, however, if your use is for commercial purposes such as advertising or to sell a product or service and if the person(s) in the photo can be identified. Consequently, if the people in your photo can be identified, you will probably need to get a release because it sounds like you want to use the photo for commercial purposes. What makes this more complicated is a new law passed a couple of years ago in Illinois called the Right of Publicity Act. The Right of Publicity Act states that each of us has the right to control and choose whether and how to use our identity for commercial purposes. This right is called our “right of publicity.” The Act defines a person’s “identity” as any attribute that identifies the person to an ordinary, reasonable viewer or listener including, but not limited to, his/her name, signature, likeness, voice, image, and of course, photograph. The Act does not apply, however, to a list of events including using a person’s identity for non-commercial purposes, including any news, public affairs, or sports broadcast. A person who violates the Right of Publicity Act may be liable for either of the following, whichever is greater: a) $1,000 or b) actual damages and/or profits derived from the unauthorized use. Punitive damages may be awarded against a person found to have willfully violated the Act. Given that a jury (not you) may decide if a photo falls into one of the exceptions or under the Act, you can never really know if the photo you are using needs a release. The best advice, therefore, is to get a release and avoid a lot of trouble in the future. ------------------------------------------ More information on the subject here at google. google.com

To: Mahatmabenfoo who wrote (4754)	6/24/2003 6:38:24 PM
From: Janice Shell	Respond to of 12465

Once again, we're not talking "comedy" or "satire" here. None of us would mind that at all. --- The privilege is not limted to actual newspapers. For example, I can sell T-shirts that say "Elginy is a self-important cookie", right? So I can add a caricature of your face on it too. Because I'm not using your face to sell T-shirts as much as I am using your face to make fun of you, and perhaps also to make an important point. Dobry is a vicious little thug who's carried a private hatred of AP into a very public forum. The real problem is that he's quite unbalanced. One attorney filed a Motion to Withdraw at the very end of a lawsuit, claiming in that motion that Dobry suffered from "metal impairment". Unfortunately--and again I speak with personal experience of Dobry and his goons--the law provides very few ways of dealing with the deluded.