Torts

Defamation: the issuance of a false statement about another person, which causes that person to suffer harm. This is severely limited when the individual is a public figure or the topic of the statement is a public concern.

Libel: the making of defamatory statements in a printed or fixed medium, such as a magazine or newspaper

Slander: the making of defamatory statements by a transitory (non-fixed) representation, usually an oral (spoken) representation

Invasion of Privacy: the right to privacy refers to the right of citizens to be left alone. This right is protected by 3 main torts:

• False Light: the false portrayal of an individual in a highly offensive manner
• Disclosure of Private Facts: private or embarrassing facts are revealed about an individual without relation to a legitimate public concern
• Intrusion: someone intrudes upon a person in a situation in which that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy
  

Right to Publicity: an individual's right to control and profit from the commercial use of his/her name, likeness and persona. An individual is protected from the loss of commercial value resulting from the unauthorized appropriation of an individual's identity for commercial purposes.

• Celebrity Example: Elvis Presley’s estate sued a company for using his name without permission because the name was similar to the name of a company which the estate did grant the right to use his name. This case extended the right to publicity to the estate of the famous person after their death.
• Celebrity Example: Vanna White successfully sued Samsung electronics for an advertisement featuring a robot which was dressed to look like her and set in front of a game board that looked very similar to the Wheel of Fortune game board.
• Celebrity Example: Bette Midler sued Ford Motor Company after they made a commercial featuring someone other than Midler singing one of her songs. The singer was a “sound-alike” who was used only after Midler refused to sing the song for the commercial herself. Her likeness was never used, but the voice was clearly intended to imitate her.

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Contracts in Entertainment Law

Contracts: an agreement with specific terms between two or more persons or entities in which there is a promise to do something in return for a valuable benefit known as consideration.

• Celebrity Example: Kellogg’s decided not to renew its sponsorship with Michael Phelps after Star Magazine reported a picture of the Olympic Gold Medalist smoking marijuana at a party. The endorsement agreement was not renewed because he violated the morals clause in the contract. These clauses are generally broad in scope and leave advertisers ample discretion to determine whether the acts of the stars amount to a violation of the clause. Specifically, the clauses prohibit behavior which is criminal, immoral, or distasteful in nature.

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Intellectual Property in Entertainment Law

Intellectual Property: creations of the mind - inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce

Trademark: a distinctive name, symbol, motto, or design that legally identifies a company or its products and services, and sometimes prevents others from using identical or similar marks

Copyright: A legal device that provides the owner the right to control how a creative work is used. A copyright is comprised of a number of exclusive rights, including the right to make copies, authorize others to make copies, make derivative works, sell and market the work and perform the work

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