The NY Times reported yesterday that Tiger Woods' management company (run by his father), has sued an artist who painted a picture (and then printed copies) of Tiger Woods' victory at Augusta. Woods is claiming trademark infringement and violation of his right to publicity. Apparently his counsel is being very heavy-handed, among other things, demanding the names of 6,000 people to whom the prints were sold, and claiming that they will depose each one (at ruinous expense to defendant).
It's an interesting intersection between a celebrity's rights in his name and image, and an artist's first amendment rights to paint whatever he wants. In any event, regardless of the merits, it appears that Woods is engaging in scorched-earth tactics to prevent anyone from painting his picture in the future without his permission.
The article is available at
<http://search.nytimes.com/search/daily/bin/fastweb?getdoc+site+site+36234+0+wAAA+tiger%7Ewoods>
though you may need to register and search for it at the site.
Patrick W. Begos
Begos & Horgan, LLP
Westport CT and Bronxville NY
begos[_at_]ibm.net
Received on Wed Feb 17 1999 - 14:51:06 GMT
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