Movie Analysis Macy Rivet - 1733 Words

Macy Rivet November 22, 2015 MC 3080 Assignment #4 It is no secret that dead celebrities sell. In many cases certain celebrities could rack in more bucks after their death than they did before it. But who gets this money? New York legislature knows this is an issue, and they are proposing a bill, S.5650/A.709, that calls for statutory right of publicity for the deceased. This bill, if passed, would extend the right of publicity for 70 years after death for anyone- not just celebrities. This would mean the name, voice, signature, image or likeness illustrating any person who was a resident of New York before they died would require a valid federal copyright and the permission from their heirs for use for â€Å"commercial purpose.† It protects artistic and creative works and allows books, plays, magazines, newspapers, music, film, radio, television and other media to use a living or deceased individual’s name or likeness in a range of fictional and non-fictional works. The boundary between publicity rights and the First Amendment rights is the main legal issue being called into question in this case. There has been a struggle to clearly articulate where the line separating publicity and free speech lies. Arguments can be made on both sides and many famous cases have come about from this issue, most of them going in favor of the first amendment. There is a definite conflict between a celebrity’s right of publicity and the public’s right to free expression represented in the