Coors, Corinna (2017) Morality, utility, reality? Justifying celebrity rights in the 21st century. Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce, 44 (2). pp. 215-249. ISSN 0093-0709

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Abstract

Despite the growing commercial significance of image rights, the recognition, justification and extent of protection for a person’s 'persona' – his public image, remain disputed among legal scholars. This article reviews the three most influential theories of intellectual property rights and examines their applicability to the protection of a celebrities’ public image. The article addresses the most common criticism raised about publicity rights in the U.S., a recognised pioneer and leader among nations in protecting celebrity rights. It assesses the scope, the moral, economic and cultural benefits of celebrity rights from both a legal and sociocultural perspective, offering a new, wider conception of the 'creator' in the intellectual property theory. Highlighting the legal background and development of image right protection in the U.S., UK and Europe in the wake of the UK vote to leave the European Union, the author argues that, although there is currently no unified approach with respect to image right protection, returning to and rethinking unifying traditional philosophical justifications for intellectual property rights could help promote a more workable and enforceable harmonised international standard in this area of law.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	This item has been deposited as per the publication's own guidance: "Posting of the article on the internet as part of a non-commercial open access institutional repository or other non-commercial open access publication site affiliated with the author(s)’s place of employment"
Keywords:	right of publicity, personality rights, privacy, intellectual property law
Subjects:	Law and criminal justice > Law
Depositing User:	Corinna Coors
Date Deposited:	31 Jul 2016 19:15
Last Modified:	06 Feb 2024 15:50
URI:	https://repository.uwl.ac.uk/id/eprint/2802

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