Act prompts new look at right of publicity after person’s death

IP News Challenge

By Beverly A. Berneman

BEVERLY A. BERNEMAN is a partner and chair of the Intellectual Property Practice Group at Golan Christie Taglia LLP. Beverly works with businesses to protect their patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach her at baberneman@gct.law.

Posted January 19, 2023 11:28 AM

Question: Can the right of publicity survive a person’s death?Discussion: In August 2022, the Allen Toussaint Legacy Act went into effect in Louisiana. The Act is named after the New Orleans pianist. The act protects an individual’s right of publicity even after the individual is deceased. While Louisiana had protected a person’s right to control the commercial use of their name, image and likeness while they were living, the right ended when they died. That is no longer the case.Specifically, the law …

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