Right of publicity sits in a tricky spot, governed by a patchwork of state laws and bounded by the First Amendment, and the stakes run both ways. Companies using a person's name, image, or likeness need to know where the line is, and the people who own those rights need to manage and protect them. We counsel both sides before problems start, so the advice shows up while you can still act on it.
Clearance And Risk Calls
Before you use someone's identity, you need to know whether you can. We advise companies on publicity rights clearance: which uses require consent, when fair use, newsworthiness, or First Amendment protection covers you, and how a given use rates on a real risk scale. State laws vary widely on post-mortem rights and what counts as commercial use, so we ground the call in the jurisdictions that actually apply to your campaign rather than a one-size answer.
Advising Talent And Estates
On the rights-holder side, the job is to protect and grow the value of an identity. We counsel public figures and their representatives on managing and monetizing publicity rights, pushing back on unauthorized uses, and planning for what happens to those rights after death, since post-mortem publicity rights differ sharply from state to state. The aim is a deliberate strategy for the person's name and likeness, not a scramble each time someone crosses the line.
Reviewing Campaigns Pre-Launch
The cheapest fix is the one made before launch. We review advertising, marketing, and product materials for publicity rights exposure ahead of release, flagging uses of real people, lookalikes, voices, or AI-generated personas that could draw a claim. We don't just say no; we recommend the changes, disclaimers, or releases that let you ship the campaign with the legal risk dialed down to something you're comfortable with.
Building Compliance Policies
If you use celebrity or influencer content regularly, you need a repeatable process, not case-by-case guesswork. We help companies build policies and intake procedures for clearing third-party identities, documenting consents and releases, and keeping marketing teams inside the lines across every campaign. With clear rules in place, your people can move quickly without each new ad becoming a fresh legal question.