© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP
Rights of Publicity andVIDEO GAME DEVELOPMENT
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Navigating theNEW MEDIA
DEVELOPERS’ MAP
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The video game industry is reaching the peak of entertainment
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 42 Realism rules the day
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 53 Celebrities still drive
value
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PuttingRIGHTS OF PUBLICITYIn The Spotlight
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Understanding Right of Publicity
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Entitlement to the economic benefit of one’s likeness
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Weighed against the First Amendment rights of developers
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 103 Freely assignable (under
California law)
Timed Out v. Youabian, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 830 (Cal. App. Ct. Sept. 12, 2014)
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False Representation of Celebrity Endorsement
Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act
Brown v. Elec. Arts, 724 F.3d 1235 (9th Cir. 2013)
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State Law – Transformative Use
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 131 The rock star cases
Kirby v. Sega of America, Inc., 144 Cal.App.4th 47 (2006)
No Doubt v. Activision Inc., 192 Cal.App.4th 1018 (2011)
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 142 The EA sports cases
Keller v. Elec. Arts, 724 F.3d 1268 (9th Cir. 2013)
Davis v. Elec. Arts, No. 12-15737 (9th Cir. Jan. 6, 2015)
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 153 The Call of Duty case
Noriega v. Activision/Blizzard, No. BC 551747, Slip Op. (Sup. Ct. Cal. Oct. 27, 2014)
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 164 Trying to connect the
pieces
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ControllingRIGHT OF PUBLICITY
RISK
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 181 Transform personalities
you use
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Know when you can use historically significant characters
© 2015 ROBINS KAPLAN LLP 203 Know when to get a
license
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Seth A. Northrop
Silicon ValleySNorthrop@robinskaplan.com650.784.4012