Re: Advertising violations

On 03/09/99, Corinne Nyquist <nyquistc[_at_]matrix.newpaltz.edu> wrote:
>
> I am a college librarian who has just been asked if an ad in the
> campus newspaper is a violation of copyright. The ad uses the
> pictures of the three stooges and then says to vote the local stooges
> i.e. politicians out of office. The politicians are fair game, but
> the ad was paid for by a local bar owner who has many violations and
> so does not like the local government enforcement of occupancy and
> under age drinking. Does someone own the rights to the three stooges
> images and how can this be found out?

Despite the extraterritoriality problem, I am fully in agreement with those who counseled caution and provided contact information, especially in light of the Three Stooges litigiousness, and the expansive scope given to the right of publicity by many courts.

I am compelled add that I think this is the type of use that OUGHT to be fair use under the First Amendment. This is clearly political speech, and it seems to me this is much more like a "nominative" use of a trademark than it is like a commercial merchandising venture. But given the courts' treatment of "satire" (use of a copyrighted work to target something other than the work itself), I have serious doubts that my view will prevail.

Tyler T. Ochoa
Associate Professor
Whittier Law School
<tochoa[_at_]law.whittier.edu> Received on Fri Mar 19 1999 - 22:46:45 GMT