Frank Dennison is a well-known professional basketball player. One day while watching television he sees an advertisement for a car dealership that features a cartoon character who resembles Frank and is wearing a basketball uniform that is the same color as his team's uniform. Additionally,another character in the ad refers to the character as "Frankie D." If you were an attorney representing Frank Dennison in a lawsuit against the company that made this advertisement,how would you argue that the advertisements violates your client's right to publicity.

Question

Frank Dennison is a well-known professional basketball player. One day while watching television he sees an advertisement for a car dealership that features a cartoon character who resembles Frank and is wearing a basketball uniform that is the same color as his team's uniform. Additionally,another character in the ad refers to the character as "Frankie D." If you were an attorney representing Frank Dennison in a lawsuit against the company that made this advertisement,how would you argue that the advertisements violates your client's right to publicity.​

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer is A person's right to publicity is violated when another uses a person's name or likeness to their advantage without that person's consent.  Additionally,as White v.Samsung and Deutsch Associates demonstrates,the person's exact name and likeness need not be used in order for this to occur.  Here,the cartoon character looks like Frank Dennison,wears a uniform that is similar to Frank's,and is called "Frankie D."  So,even though it is not his exact name or likeness,the company that made this advertisement violated Frank Dennison's right to publicity through this advertisement.

Frank Dennison Is a Well-Known Professional Basketball Player