What is the Right of Privacy/Publicity in the US and how can it affect museums?
• There are significant variations in law between countries in Europe and between Europe and the US; • A person’s likeness or name cannot be used for the purposes of trade; • The right dies with the person; • The right applies to everyone, not just those in the public eye; • There is a consistency in State and Federal law in dealing with infringement cases; • One such case involved the inclusion of a woman in a photograph taken by a famous German photographer. The woman sued under her Right of Privacy; • The reproduction of the likeness of someone carried out by a museum during its daily activities and to encourage public access to art is likely to be viewed under US legislation as educating the public, rather than infringing rights.
