Скачать или смотреть Minor uses of a celebrity's name or likeness in films are likely protected by the First Amendment

Let’s talk about a case that specifically deals with film and TV, which I think suggests that most uses of a celebrity’s name and likeness in a film are likely to be considered "transformative," and thus to be protected by the First Amendment.

Recently, the actress Olivia de Havilland filed a lawsuit against FX Networks, which I’ve talked about before on this channel. De Havilland claimed that Catherine Zeta-Jones’ portrayal of her in the TV series Feud: Bette and Joan misappropriated De Havilland’s name and likeness. The court said this use of De Havilland’s likeness was transformative, so it was protected by the First Amendment. The court focused on the fact that the average viewer wouldn’t watch Feud: Bette and Joan just because of the Olivia De Havilland character – she was actually a fairly minor character in the series – but because of the story of Bette Davis and Joan Crawford, and the creativity the director, writer, crew, actors and so on put into telling that story.

So, the bottom line is that, as a filmmaker, if you use someone’s name or likeness in your film, whether it’s a narrative or documentary film, it’s probably only a small part of your movie. So, it’s likely that your use of the name or likeness is transformative. Audience members aren’t going to go see your movie just because it uses the name or picture of a celebrity – they’re going to go because of your amazing creativity and filmmaking talent, right?