Legal Ramifications

If you thought the film industry or anything related to the film industry was an almost lawsuit free industry, you thought wrong. There are many lawsuits a year in this industry dealing with defamation, rights and permission. One case is in regards to defamation of character. According to an article in the Aba Journal and on The Wrap website, in the film Hurt Locker the main character is supposed to be based on a general composite of men in the army. A man is suing the makers of that movie because he believes it show his life in an unflattering way. I think this impacts the film industry because it may limit filmmakers’ creativity. If the filmmakers think they can create a character and put them in a real life situation only then to be challenged by someone who says that they in fact did not create this character but that character already exists then that allows that basis for anybody whether the film is based on a true story or not. Another case involves publicity rights to use images or likeness. According to an article on Aba Journal, this extended so far to include a robot in a blond wig. Vanna White sued a VCR manufacturer in the 1990’s claiming to use her likeness in a commercial because of the Wheel of fortune wheel with a robot next to it, claiming that people would associate her next to the wheel of fortune wheel. The final case I will be discussing today is about permission; involving the use of actor Marlon Brando’s name on clothing retailer Joe’s Jeans’ products. According to an article on Bloomberg.com, Brando Enterprises, which house Marlon Brando’s estate, claims that Joe’s Jeans has used “The Brando” name in several of its marketing campaigns and at no time did Brando Enterprises give them permission.