The heirs to the Steve McQueen legacy acting through family trusts have taken action in a New York court to prevent the use of the name ‘Steve McQueen’ and his likeness by Belstaff USA Corp according to news reports from the US. The name and image are being used on various types of clothing such as jackets, t-shirts, sweaters and shoes.

So called ‘image rights’ have been recognised as protectable and valuable intangible assets in the US for many years. Recent developments in privacy laws in Europe have given high profile individuals and celebrities some protection against the misuse of their personalities. In the UK a case involving the privacy of Naomi Campbell established the extent of the privacy celebrities and others can expect. There have been other UK cases such as one involving J K Rowling’s family.

There was no ‘image right’ as such recognised in the UK until a few years ago. In a case involving the former racing driver, Eddie Irvine, the courts in the UK prevented the commercial radio station Talk Sport using a photograph of the driver talking on his mobile phone but altered so that he appeared to be listening to a ‘Talk Sport’ radio. The Court of Appeal confirmed a) that this was a misuse of Eddie Irvine’s image in a commercial way and b) that damages should be paid.

These developments are a very welcome development as the lack of proper protection of a celebrity’s image and privacy was out of line with the modern entertainment and commercial media world.

Posted: June 5th, 2008 under Intellectual Property.
Comments: none