I need to figure out the exact name of the area of legal practice,
where lawyers deal with when a public figure loses rights to their
likeness.  It is part of intellectual property, but I need a more
narrow term to find the right attorney.
  I'll pay a big tip on top if an attorney that handles this exact
kind of law practice and has had experience is found.
  As an example of these types of rights, Richard Nixon - during his
presidency, was found to have lost the rights to his likeness when
someone produced a caricature doll of him.  The courts determined he
had when he became president become too public a figure to keep normal
privacy rights to his image.

Hello renvhoek-ga,

At the outset, I should emphasize the disclaimer at the bottom of this
page, which states that answers on Google Answers are general
information, and are not intended to substitute for informed
professional legal advice.  As a Researcher, I can tell you what I
have found on the Internet, but you should consult a lawyer if you
need a professional opinion (as it appears you intend to do).

According to the Legal Information Institute and an overview of mass
media law (among other sources), the right term is either
"appropriation" or "the right of publicity" (or "the right to
publicity").  (These pages indicate that more general terms for this
subject matter are "invasion of privacy" and "the right of privacy".) 
Apparently, how and whether this right is protected varies from state
to state.

"Law about ... right of publicity and right of privacy: an overview"
Legal Information Institute (LII)
http://www.law.cornell.edu/topics/publicity.html

"Invasion of Privacy: Appropriation and Intrusion: Chapter Overview"
(Mass Media Law, 13/e, Don R. Pember, University of Washington)
McGraw-Hill Higher Education
http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/0072492171/student_view0/chapter7/chapter_overview.html

I hope that this information is helpful.  Before rating this answer,
please let me know (through a request for clarification) the state in
which you want to find a lawyer that specializes in this area.

- justaskscott-ga


Search terms used on Google:

glossary law likeness
privacy appropriation publicity likeness

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Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 06 Mar 2003 10:34 PST

Expertlaw-ga makes a good point; if you want me to locate an attorney
who practices in this area of law, you should also indicate whether
the attorney would be representing the public figure or the person who
is using the public figure's likeness.

Incidentally, if you want me to locate an attorney, you should
indicate not only the state, but the part of the state the lawyer
practices in.

---

Request for Answer Clarification by renvhoek-ga on 06 Mar 2003 11:58 PST

Hi:
  The state is actually somewhat immaterial, but probably a little
easier on me if he were in Kentucky.
  However, I'm not asking for a specific attorney name - so much as to
know how to search for him.  When I, for example, typed in
"intellectual property" and "only in Kentucky" and "publicity" - I got
198 lawyers in the state of Kentucky alone.  I wanted to narrow down
the list considerably.
  I need to review the rest of your answer tonight more throughly -
this is just a quick response from work.
 - thx, Jon

---

Request for Answer Clarification by renvhoek-ga on 06 Mar 2003 12:24 PST

oh - I forgot - and I want the lawyer to argue the public person has
lost his rights.
 - jon

---

Clarification of Answer by justaskscott-ga on 06 Mar 2003 17:51 PST

I have found two opinions -- one in the Federal Court of Appeals for
the Sixth Circuit, and the other in the Kentucky Supreme Court -- that
decided cases concerning the right of publicity in Kentucky.  (As
noted, I am a Google Answers Researcher, not a Kentucky lawyer, so my
research is relatively limited.)  In both cases, the court affirmed a
judgment in favor of those who were using the public figure's
likeness.

Landham v. Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. (United States Court of Appeals for
the Sixth Circuit, Sept. 18, 2000)
FindLaw
http://laws.findlaw.com/6th/00a0328p.html

Montgomery v. Montgomery (Nov. 21, 2001)
Supreme Court of Kentucky
http://162.114.92.72/Opinions/1999-SC-001111-DG.pdf

The law firm representing the winning side in the Landham case was
Vimont & Wills of Lexington, Kentucky ( http://www.vimwil.com/ ).  As
indicated on page 11 of the Thompson opinion, the lawyers representing
the winning side in that case were William M. Thompson and David A.
Tapp, both of Somerset, Kentucky.

You might be interested to note that a lawyer for one of the firms
representing the losing side in the Landham case -- Stites & Harbison
( http://www.stites.com/ )-- wrote a commentary on the Montgomery
case.  So you might want to check with that firm as well, though of
course they were on the opposite site from the one you want.

"Innovation" (Vol. 2, Issue 1) (March 2002) [on page 2: "Right of
publicity clarified in Kentucky", by John W. Scruton]
Stites & Harbison
http://www.stites.com/info/pdf/Mar_02_Innovation_LR2.pdf


Search strategy:

Found page on FindLaw (called "FindLaw > State Resources > Kentucky >
Laws") that links to Kentucky Supreme Court and Sixth Circuit cases:

http://www.findlaw.com/11stategov/ky/laws.html

Searched in Kentucky Supreme Court opinions for:

"right of publicity"

Searched in Sixth Circuit opinions for:

"right of publicity" and kentucky

Searched on Google for:

"john michael montgomery" "right of publicity"

You found the correct answer(s) including "appropriation" and "right
to publicity", plus good leads to varius articles and sites which gave
a plethora of information

While I don't know that I can suggest an attorney, if you are still
looking for help in that direction: Are you interested in an attorney
who would argue that a certain person retains his rights to his
likeness, or to argue that he has lost those rights?

Hi - please see notes above I left for the other answerer.
 thx, Jon