OT (for MGoLawyers) - Question about selling someone's likeness
I know we want to move on from the game this past Saturday but I just have a question for the MGoLawyers. A friend of mine (shown below) is the infamous shocked Michigan fan shown right after the end of the game.
Using this image, an Ohio t-shirt company has started to sell a shirt, called "The Disappointment Up North", with his face on it (the shirt can be seen below).
My friend did not give this company permission to use his image. We were just wondering what courses of actions we can take because this company is profiting from his likeness without him giving them the rights to his image. Our main goal isn't money - we just think it's unfair that they are making money without any permission from him. So our question for all you MGoLawyers - what should/can we do?
Link: http://www.cincyshirts.com/index.php/cincyshirts/cincyshirts/the-disappointment-up-north.html
October 20th, 2015 at 1:35 PM ^
Sue those bastards!
October 20th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
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October 20th, 2015 at 4:34 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:39 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:36 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:53 PM ^
Agree with Huma. With the actual picture of your friend on the website there isn't a doubt whose likeness it is. Usually these things have a way of settling themselves without court action. I kind of like the shirt - maybe you can get something from the T-shirt company in exchange for letting them sell it.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
Uh...you like the shirt?
October 20th, 2015 at 3:04 PM ^
...and donate all of the proceeds to the Michigan Athletics Annual Fund.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:39 PM ^
October 21st, 2015 at 11:11 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
Not a lawyer, I have no answer.
Just wanted to say "hang in there" to your friend. When it happened, and they showed your friend I realized I had my hands on my head and the same look on my face. It was like looking into a mirror. He captured the exact feeling I was having at the same time.
I figured someone would "meme" him. Good luck getting that company to cease and desist.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:40 PM ^
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October 20th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
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October 20th, 2015 at 2:25 PM ^
Samesies. I had changed clothes and left for the gym within 4 mins of the play. I left my wife and 4 other friends in the family room wondering where I had gone.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
Force them to live their entire lives in Ohio.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:27 PM ^
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October 20th, 2015 at 1:37 PM ^
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October 20th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
YOU GUYS DIDNT EVEN PLAY MICHIGAN IN THAT GAME!
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October 20th, 2015 at 1:38 PM ^
http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/using-name-or-likeness-another
Long story short, they probably can't do that. The first step would probably be a Cease & Desist letter telling them to knock it off.
EDIT: I'd be happy to draft a quick C&D and/or give them a call if your friend would like.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:47 PM ^
I agree with this. Probably not okay.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:19 PM ^
Is there an email we can contact you at?
October 20th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
I'll email you
October 20th, 2015 at 7:05 PM ^
I'll gladly chip in $100 towards your legal fees should you require it. No, I'm not kidding.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:38 PM ^
Yeah, a quick letter should suffice to make them stop; I doubt they ran off a large number of prints beforehand (this looks like a to-order site), but just to be sure make sure they don't try to sell those off either.
Yeah, it's kind of a crappy thing to do, and I'm surprised their lawyer didn't give them a heads-up about it.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:45 PM ^
You know, there's a REALLY good law school in Ann Arbor....
As a lawyer, I would recommend seeing if somebody there can help.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:44 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:34 PM ^
I saw this thread and was ready to quote the kiosk rule because nearly all of these threads tend to fit in that category, but no, this one has at a secondary connection to the blog itself in that this is the friend of a user.
I suppose if the C&D warning doesn't work, there is always suing for the business itself and - if successful - turning it into a cooler factory. That might be a little extreme though, so I don't recommend that.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:46 PM ^
If there's any way to make the sting of this past week's loss go away, it's making a fuck-ton of money. Go for it.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
I have some experience in this area. If you want, you can email me at my user name @yahoo.com and we can talk offline.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:50 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:08 PM ^
I remember Sparty's wearing App State shirts at the 2007 game. It felt so great to not only win that game, but to do it in comeback fashion. Also, in case people forgot, Dantonio started the trash talk with his "moment of silence" comment. I honestly can't wait until Harbaugh puts a Stanford/USC style beatdown on him.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:32 PM ^
walking past the Penn State crowd in the stadium that year after we beat them, probably saw 2 or 3 dozen brahs in App State shirts
October 20th, 2015 at 1:54 PM ^
Your friend would almost certainly prevail at trial. If I was handling the matter, my advice would be to file a complaint in federal court tomorrow, seek emergency injunctive relief (a small bond likely would be required) concurrently - this almost certainly should be granted because the shirt holds your friend up for ridicule, and only then should your friend be willing to entertain negotiations. Following this process, your friend could expect to shut down all further sales immediately and collect a tidy settlement. There is no defense available to the company, it's an easy case to win. Good luck.
October 20th, 2015 at 4:38 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:56 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:00 PM ^
Send a cease and desist warning. Doesn't even have to be written by a lawyer
edit: unless you want money (which you're entitled to, people with shitty business practices should have to pay people they try to take advantage of). In that case, sue
October 20th, 2015 at 2:36 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 1:59 PM ^
You drive to Cincy and start throwing fists...
Disclaimer: Not a lawyer.
October 20th, 2015 at 1:59 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:03 PM ^
You should contact the Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic at the Law School to see if they can take on your case. It'd be free for you and I'm sure some of your classmates in the law school would love to help stop this nonsense. As previously noted, your case is a slam dunk, so you should take all of their profits and something for emotional distress and give it to Mott.
https://www.law.umich.edu/clinical/generalclinic/Pages/contactus.aspx
October 20th, 2015 at 2:47 PM ^
I'd be surprised if they took the case. There are issues of personal jurisdiction in that the defendant is an Ohio based company who does not appear to do business in Michigan. Moreover, given that the possible defendant(s) reside in Ohio, and the acts that gave rise to any claims occured in Ohio, it's likely that the proper venue for the action would be in Ohio, specifically the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.
None of this should be construed as legal advice.
October 20th, 2015 at 3:01 PM ^
October 20th, 2015 at 2:05 PM ^
Not sure, but I do know that is illegal to kill said person and wear his face as a mask.
October 20th, 2015 at 2:09 PM ^
I would caution that the law remains unsettled on this point . . . .
October 20th, 2015 at 2:12 PM ^
were both the subject of an ESPN article I read a couple of days ago. Not sure if this is where you first learned of the shirt or not, but here it is:
October 20th, 2015 at 2:16 PM ^
Sue them for everything they have. Sticking it to Columbus would make me feel a little better.