Re: Celebrities in historical news footage

From: Carol Shepherd <shepherd[_at_]arborlaw.com>
Date: Tue, 02 Mar 1999 13:59:29 +0000

On Mon, 01 Mar 1999, Amy Lennie <alennie[_at_]interlog.com> wrote:
>
> I'm working in a documentary on the history of some pop culture aspects
> of the 20th Century. I've got some news footage of celebrities from the
> 1960's and '70's (ie: Liz Taylor walking out of a restaurant, Deborah
> Harry shopping). If I use this footage would this conflict with their
> right of publicity or is it ok to use celebrities in new-type footage,
> even though you're re-using it in a different context that it was
> originally shot for?
>
> Any help in this matter would be appreciated!

Amy:

The answer is, "It depends." You haven't provided enough information, because context is going to be very important. However, if I were you and I were doing your project (the word "documentary" to me says that it seems intended for commercial distribution) I would consult with a local entertainment law attorney. I think you need legal counsel beyond a mailing list.

-- 
Carol Ruth Shepherd
Arborlaw Associates PLLC
Ann Arbor, Michigan USA
+1 734 668 4646 tel   +1 734 663 9361 fax
business, technology, entertainment and new media law
year2000[_at_]arborlaw.com
<shepherd[_at_]arborlaw.com>
Received on Tue Mar 02 1999 - 19:02:07 GMT

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