Imagine you’re perusing the website and you stumble on merchandise with a familiar face—yours. First, relish and/or cringe at your newfound internet fame. Second, cue your publicity rights. In the USA, no matter your status or celebrity, publicity rights can protect the commercial use of a person’s identity (including yours!).
On the flip side, that means that publicity laws may also prevent you from using someone else’s name, image, or likeness to sell your products. If your artwork uses someone else’s name or the image is recognizable enough, it may violate his or her publicity rights, even if it’s your own drawing or other artistic interpretation of the person’s likeness.
Other countries might have similar laws that protect publicity rights.
Obligatory Yet Very Important Legal Disclaimer
Don’t be fooled by any complicated jargon. We are not your lawyer and this is not legal advice. We recommend contacting an attorney if you need an actual legal consultation. Rather, this is general information aimed at giving you the legal lay of the land. While we can’t defend you in court, we know that art and IP ownership can be murky territory; the least we can do is arm you with the right kind of knowledge to get you started.