Personalities or Egos?
Eh?
The Guernsey Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has opened a public consultation on draft laws that would for the first time anywhere in the world allow celebrities to register their personality rights as a form of intellectual property. A sports law expert said the chance for enhanced legal certainty over their image and …
This legislation seriously jeopardises two ancient and venerated forms of entertainment - caricature and impressions. Such fictitious rights render many such forms of satire an infringement of those rights. Who loses? The consumers, as usual. Will we see Apple vs Samsung style patent wars over personalities who think they have rights to personality traits that we all knew "someone at school who always did that anyway". Pointless and damaging IMHO.
It's not Apple, but rather White vs. Samsung (http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/communications/white.html [dissent]).
For those of you not paying attention almost a decade ago, Samsung brought out a series of commercials showing the ``future'', including one of a robot in a blond wig and evening gown standing in front of a board full of letters.
Vanna White sued for $1M, claiming Samsung had used her ``likeness'', protected under California law, and hypnotized enough 9th-Circuit judges to declare that she had been harmed under California law. She actually got ~$400k. The dissent referenced is well worth a read.
I have a hard time sympathizing with the personalities wanting protection. Those famous enough to be covered by such a law already make more than enough for a living in which in which they feel no pain. Poor babies.
You're right, it's still funny though.
I could have called it just another example of lawyers making laws more complicated to ensure their future fruitful employment. Any attempt to simplify laws by making new ones (without repealing older, more complex legislature) is a joke. But that'd be boring, depressing and right.
So if they pass this law in Guernsey, does it only apply in Guernsey? And if so, how much difference will it make when most of the newspapers and magazines that show the embarrasing photos of celebs are in UK, USA, etc.?
On the other hand, if Guernsey can just have their own laws on IP that work across the planet, can SeaLand pass their own laws too and start dictating global terms?(they could certainly do with the income!)
One law for all or none, I think that is how it is supposed to be.
Harry Bloggs, bus driver, who 'allegedly' ran over a kitten yesterday, except it now turns out the kitten was already dead, actually it turns out it was a toy kitten and he didtn't actually run over it, but too late the tabloids and talk-back radio have already got hold of it. Old 'arry would probably want some access to a bit of this as well, but is he famous enough?
If you in the news, no matter who you are, it is assumed that what ever is produced has a value directly correlating to news sources profits.
Everyone should get a cut of the action.
"Special people" should have to go to court for extenuating circumstances.
One mans privacy is not another mans open door.