[ANSWERED] Question about Celebrity Likenesses
Nyghtfall3D
Posts: 760
I recently built a new adults-only message board for 3D and 2D artists, and the question about using celebrity likenesses in our work has come up. Some people are for, others are against.
I Googled the topic last night and found a 9-year-old thread on an ask-an-attorney website called Avvo. The author wanted to know if it's ok to create and use celebrity likenesses in a virtual world. All five attorneys who replied said doing so without their consent would violate their publicity rights.
I need to to know how far into the 3D art industry that line really extends, because there are vendors on sites like Renderosity who appear to specialize in modeling G8 figures after celebrities. For example, does it include iconic, fictional characters they've played?
Here's the site I found that Q&A on: https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/can-i-create-a-3d-likeness-from-a-famous-2d-celebr-1828488.html
I would greatly appreciate any clarity on this.
Thank you.
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Comments
That would apply to any reprsentation that wasn't in a protected category, I would think - it's just that people get away with it. Really, you need to ask an actual lawyer.
As Richard mentioned-you need to ask an attorney. Laws change on a regular basis so what you were reading may still be the case or it may be permitted now with exceptions.
New message board Nyghtfall?? Send me a PM if you are interested in new users.
Figured as much. I set up an account at that Avvo site I linked to and asked. The first lawyer replied about 5 minutes later and said it's not ok.
I think it would come down to whether or not an individual thinks it's worthwhile to pursue litigation in the courts, and of course how much money they're willing to spend on a team of attorneys.
This Wall Street Journal article, while confined mostly to deepfakes, discusses the issue of the legality of AI/image manipulation, which is basically what 3D likenesses is.
Edit - you may have to clear your cookies to see the full article.
A second lawyer has replied and said it is absolutely not ok, so it looks like the part of my ToS that prohibits their use will stand.
Just don't. How would you like it your likeness was used in negative ways you didn't authorize? Maybe change it enough so it's reminiscent of someone without being a dead ringer. Celebrities are human beings with feelings like everyone else.
Two more lawyers - four total now - have confirmed that it's not ok. As far as I'm concerned the matter is settled.
It's OK for editorials and satire legally in the US but really such a gimmick is not going to lend itself to making creations there any more successful. Wouldn't you rather untether your users from the celebrity rubbernecker aspect of it and instead be dependant on creations the users are actually interested in?
But like everyone has said contact a real lawyer that you pay real money to talk to in person to assure yourself of the legality of it. You shouldn't be trusting internet lawyers or internet opinions on anything.
After all, the great books are read again and again and again without the benefit of one celebrity in them. Remember that.
Ok seems settled...
The only thing not settled is the name of your new forum... ?
Fair point. I doubt the response will be any different but I've found an IP lawyer in my area and sent them a message.
https://pixelsinperil.net
Could you give a link to your question? I couldn't find it.
https://www.avvo.com/legal-answers/5727848.html
what if the celebrity in question is deceased?
However: How do you define "Celebrity Likeness"? Sometimes I lurk into the "Celebrity Look alike" thread on this board and most of the time I can not see any similarity. On the other hand I know a couple of characters on DAZ which aren't built exactly as a Celebrity Look Alike, but are definitely inspired by particular real life people. Best example: Kayleyss' Jacqueline (Jacqueline Kennedy's chin and mouth) and other characters he did or Twosret (although he isn't mentioned I am convinced that Kayleyss actually created her too) who is obviously inspired by Liz Taylor.
Furthermore similarity isn't only achieved by a physiognomical aspects but also by hairstyle, clothing or maybe Make-Up.
I would imagine the "definition" would be somewhere along the lines of "would an average person recognise the figure in this image as celebrity X?" - which is a bit vague but that's where the legal battle would commence. I think the OP made the right call in blocking those on their forum as you don't really want things to get that far and it's safer to just not allow it. It's easy enough to dial down a model from 100% and roll in some other morphs to make sure that a figure is not a good match for an existing celebrity.
Obviously, there is still a chance of accidentally throwing a few random morphs together and the resulting figure looking like a random real person. But, those can be dealt with as and when they happen. However, I have seen plenty of images on other galleries where the artist is obviously using a model specifically designed to be a certain celebrity and clothing/posing them in a way that the celebrity would not approve of and so the rule would be to block those occurances.
The question comes down to if you are trying to represent the celebrity or make a parody (under US law, at least). If you say: "Here's Jenny Mcarthy acting dumb!" she's probably going to pay a lawyer to make your life hell. But if you say: "Here's Jainey Mcbarthy acting dumb!" then it's parody and there's nothing they can do about it. That's why you'll see so many celebrity lookalike models using soundalike names or deepfake videos labelled as "NOT-Jenna-Coleman doing XXX" to protect themselves.
Final update:
I never heard back from the local attorney Avvo referred me to, so I found another one through Google who advertises free consultations and spoke with their receptionist this morning. A bit later, they emailed me to advise they didn't feel they were a good fit for my situation and referred me to another local attorney.
I reached out to their referral and just received a questionnaire to fill out to get a better bead on my question. They also advised they charge $200 for an initial consult. I can't afford that and have no interest in paying it, so I'm sticking with what the Avvo lawyers told me.
Final decision: Celebrity likenesses are prohibited on my board.
Thank you.
Hi Nyghtfall, I've sent you a PM about a problem I'm having registering at PIP.
Got it and replied. Thanks!