Have you ever wondered what you’re worth? No, not your “net worth” (i.e. the cumulative value of your assets less any debts or liabilities), but the commercial value of your name, identity, image or likeness. Yes, you have a right of publicity: the right to control the use of your name, picture, voice, image or likeness, and to prevent another from using the same for commercial benefit without your consent.
New Jersey, like most states, recognizes this right of publicity. The right of publicity “signifies the right of an individual, especially a public figure or celebrity, to control the commercial value and exploitation of his name and picture or likeness and to prevent others from unfairly appropriating this value for commercial benefit.” Hart v. Electronic Arts, Inc., 2010 WL 3786112 *5, (D.N.J. Sept. 22, 2010; citing McFarland v. Miller, 14 F.3d 912, 918 (3d Cir. 1994); Prima v. Darden Rest., 78 F.Supp.2d 337, 348 (D.N.J. 2000); also citing Jarvis v. A&M Records, 827 F.Supp. 282, 297 (D.N.J. 1993) (“[t]he right of publicity generally applies to situations where the plaintiff’s name, reputation or accomplishments are highly publicized and the defendant used that fact to his or her advantage”). Fundamentally, the right of publicity acknowledges the validity and legality of a person’s interest in his/her name or likeness in the nature of a property right. Restatement (Second) of Torts, § 652C comment a. The courts have further articulated this right, recognizing that “a celebrity has the right to capitalize on his persona, and the unauthorized use of that persona for commercial gain violates fundamental notions of fairness and deprives the celebrity of some economic value in his persona.” Hart, supra, at *5 (citing Prima, 78 F.Supp.2d at 349). The violation of an individual’s right of publicity and unauthorized use of his/her likeness – especially celebrities whose status often generates wealth – harms the individual by diluting the...
