celebrities rights act

Is there a right of publicity for animals? More specifically, do pets have a right of publicity in California? These may seem like silly questions at first glance, but the answers could be very important if you have a pet with a social media presence. These days, it is not uncommon for people to create social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest where they post daily photos of their pets. These accounts can be incredibly popular and often gain hundreds or even thousands of followers.

If a company uses a person’s photo, voice, or likeness and includes it in their own advertisement without first obtaining consent, they may be violating the person’s right of publicity. In California, there are laws against misappropriating someone’s publicity rights. Unfortunately, not all right of publicity lawsuits are brought in good faith, which is why anyone who has been threatened with this type of litigation should be aware of the best defenses to right of publicity claims.

You may have worked very hard on your public image, especially if you use that image to generate revenues through a brand or persona that you publicize online. When someone takes your carefully cultivated image without permission, they are stealing your hard work to make money for themselves. Moreover, their actions could be causing significant harm to your image by associating it with a product or service that you do not want to be associated with.