Raise the Hammer

Who Can Sue for Unlawful Use of Name or Likeness
Only human beings, and not corporations or other organizations, have rights of publicity and privacy interests that can be invaded by misappropriation of name or likeness. Thus, only individuals can sue for unlawful use of name or likeness, unless a human being has transferred his or her rights to an organization. Note that companies may sue you for trademark infringement and unfair competition if you exploit their brand names for commercial purposes. See the Trademark section for details.

In some states, celebrities cannot sue for misappropriation of name and likeness (on the theory that they have no privacy interest to protect), and non-celebrities may not sue for violation of the right of publicity (on the theory that their personalities have no commercial value). The growing trend, however, is to permit both celebrities and non-celebrities two sue for both misappropriation and violation of the right of publicity, as long as they can establish the relevant kind of harm.

You cannot invade the privacy of a dead person, so you generally cannot be sued for misappropriation of the name or likeness of a dead person, unless the misappropriation took place before the person in question died. However, in many states the right of publicity survives after death, so you could be sued for violating the publicity rights of a dead person. This is most likely to come up with dead celebrities.

Elements of a Claim for Unlawful Use of Name or Likeness
A plaintiff must establish three elements to hold someone liable for unlawful use of name or likeness:

1. Use of a Protected Attribute: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used an aspect of his or her identity that is protected by the law. This ordinarily means a plaintiff's name or likeness, but the law protects certain other personal attributes as well.
2. For an Exploitative Purpose: The plaintiff must show that the defendant used his name, likeness, or other personal attributes for commercial or other exploitative purposes. Use of someone's name or likeness for news reporting and other expressive purposes is not exploitative, so long as there is a reasonable relationship between the use of the plaintiff's identity and a matter of legitimate public interest.
3. No Consent: The plaintiff must establish that he or she did not give permission for the offending use.

ADVISING FRINGE PRODUCERS, VENUES SUPORTING JUNE MORROW SKIT KNOWN AS MISS APRIL DAY'S SCHOOL OF BURLESQUE.
THIS IS A CLEAR CASE OF INFRINGEMENT BY USING MY NAME AND OCCUPATION IN A VULGAR STAGE PRESENTATION WITHOUT MY CONSENT And after notification to cease.
sincerely
april daye /april day. the real miss april daye.

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