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Focus (Forum & Focus)

Aug. 14, 2007

Image Ownership

Focus Column - By David A. Gerber - A man who had his image used on Taster's Choice coffee labels and ads without his permission for six years is now breaking new ground in the question of whether a likeness is a property right or a privacy right.

FOCUS COLUMN

By David A. Gerber

      In early 2005, a Glendale jury returned a verdict of nearly $16 million in a "name and likeness" case brought by model Russell Christoff. More than $15.6 million of the judgment consisted of profits attributable to the use of Christoff's image on a Nestle Taster's Choice coffee label and attendant advertising. The court entered judgment under the common law and Civil Code Section 3344(a), which ...

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