Right of Publicity: A Concise History

This program begins with a historical evolution of the right of publicity in the United States by discussing the legal origins of the right of privacy that leads to the development of the early right of publicity and concludes with a discussion of the Hollywood’s entertainment industry’s influence on the modern right of publicity in the mid-20th century. In sum, the concise history traces the history of the right of publicity to its culmination in the enactment of state statutes. The program’s second half analyzes the three First Amendment theories used in as defenses in a Right of Publicity infringement cases with selected case law review.