California Court of Appeal Rules Models’ Right of Publicity Claims Assignable, Not Preempted by Copyright Act

The California Court of Appeal held earlier this month that certain right of publicity claims are freely assignable, and that the Copyright Act does not preempt a right of publicity claim where the defendant has no legal right to publish the copyrighted work. The decision, Timed Out v. Youabian, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 830 (Cal. App. Ct. Sept. 12, 2014), will encourage right of publicity lawsuits and increase the costs associated with rights clearances.


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