Van Morrison Finds Himself In Likeness Suit

Someone's getting fired for this one.

Usually artists are the ones asserting their intellectual property rights. But this time Van Morrison and Universal Music Group Inc. are on the wrong side of a lawsuit brought by a former wrestler over the use of his image.

Billy Two Rivers, a Mowhawk chief, occasional actor, and former wrestler from the 50s through the late 70s, spotted his image in the promotional materials for Morrison’s upcoming album “Roll With the Punches” and he’s filed suit with the aid of Michael R. Graif of Curtis Mallet-Prevost Colt & Mosle LLP.

Law360 spoke with Graif:

“Everyone has a right to control the use of their images for commercial purposes, and Universal never even asked,” Graif said.

Graif said he can understand why the music studio wanted to use the photo of Two Rivers, which is iconic. But considering his extensive wrestling career and his political involvement with the Kahnawake reservation, Two Rivers has a “pretty big reputation” to protect, Graif said.

“It was incumbent on the defendants to ask him for permission to use his image, but they didn’t,” Graif said.

Now, this is a trigger warning for everyone who just finished the bar exam, but without hearing the story from Morrison and Universal, it would seem like this is a case of laziness and overlapping property rights. Somewhere along the line, some junior executive at Universal probably found a cool picture of Two Rivers that they had the rights to use and decided to go with it, never bothering to consider any residual rights Two Rivers had in protecting his likeness from commercial use.

But most coverage of this case misses the real point. Wouldn’t a boxer be a better image for this “Roll With The Punches” title? Obviously there are many stage punches thrown in wrestling these days, but back in the day they were still trying to look like real wrestling, even if there were occasional “Tomahawk Chops,” to name Billy’s signature move.

Screwing up likeness rights is one thing, but picking the wrong sport entirely really should get someone fired.

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Wrestler Hits Van Morrison, Universal With IP Suit [Law360]


HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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