Would You Confuse This Couch With Humphrey Bogart?
from the don't-bogart-that-couch dept
We've mentioned it in passing on this site, but one especially troubling area of what (misleadingly) called "intellectual property" law is the rise of publicity and/or privacy rights (especially in New York and California), which try to get famous people an "intellectual property" type monopoly right over their names or likenesses, even in ridiculous situations. The latest such example involves the estate of actor Humphrey Bogart, suing furniture company Ashley Furniture for creating a furniture colleciton named "Bogart." From what I can tell, it looks like.. well, lots of other furniture on the market these days. For example, below is the sectional/recliner sofa:Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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Filed Under: couches, humphrey bogart, privacy rights, publicity rights
Companies: ashley furniture
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Dude!
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Re: Dude!
1969, "to keep a joint in your mouth," dangling from the lip like Humphrey Bogart's cigarette in the old movies, instead of passing it on. First attested in "Easy Rider." The word was also used 1960s with notions of "get something by intimidation, be a tough guy" (again with reference to the actor and the characters he typically played). In old drinking slang, Captain Cork was "a man slow in passing the bottle."
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Mike you is lucky Boggie is dead ,, or he would really hurt you ,
Here's looking at you kid.....!
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Overstating your argument
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There is no money in the world which should compensate for loss of privacy. IMHO. Just because I chose to become an actor doesn't mean that I handed over my constitutional rights to privacy. It doesn't mean you deserve to know every inch of my PRIVATE life.
This is not to say that I think celebs are guaranteed compensation for likeness rights. A wax statue. F-U. Pay Me. A 'couch' named Bogart??? F-U. Get a life....
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haha
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This seems like the exact thing trademarks are suppose to be used for..
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Obligatory slightly altered quotation...
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Cool, btw -- you added slashdot-style buttons on posts :)
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I could only see that if they called the couch the "Humphrey Bogart." As it is, while not as ubiquitous as Johnson or Williams, there are many people with the last name of Bogart. If the only Bogart most people know is Humphrey, that isn't the manufacturer's problem, and you shouldn't be able to trademark a last name, whether common or not. If they called it "Hughes" instead of "Bogart" would Howard Hughes' estate be able to sue? What if they called it "Nixon?"
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About 24,200,000 results (0.41 seconds) for Bogart -Humphrey
First hit is for Bogart Racing Wheels. Fucking stealers!
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Famous Names Should Be Retired
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And why should estates of dead people get free cash just because someone names their product? That seems a lot more crazy to me than what you're saying.
Separate and apart from compensation, why should a company be allowed to use a celebrity's name without permission
Because they're naming a product. If they're not actually using their likeness, or making any representation that the product is actually endorsed by the star, then what's wrong with it?
But what if a celebrity's family does not want to be associated with, for example, alcohol or cigarettes? Is your position really that any company can attach a celebrity name to its product without obtaining permission or paying compensation? That's just crazy to me.
Free speech is a wonderful thing. People can say stuff you don't like.
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Would your position change if it was the Humphrey Bogart couch? What if it was the Tom Cruise couch? If so, what's the difference? If not, why is a corporation entitled to profit by associating its products with a celebrity name without either permission or compensation?
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As you must know, you are wrong from a legal perspective. There really can't be an argument about that.
"""
Actually there can be an argument: YOU are wrong, no law was broken. See how that works? Naming a couch after a long dead celebrity does not fall under the auspices of naming rights, IMO. Nobody in their right mind thinks that Bogie is endorsing this couch from beyond the grave. As far as the family, who cares? They are not the famous ones, no one cares about their opinion. Since you are arguing the point, how long will it be before someone could conceivably name their couch 'Bogart' without inviting a lawsuit?
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The Tom Cruise couch is the one that's only 24 inches tall.
The Bogart couch is the one that smells like alcohol and nicotine.
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Slashdot style buttons
They are like the "door close" buttons in an elevator.
They do nothing, but they make you feel like you have done something, and hence make you feel slightly less powerless in this vast cruel world we live in.
Or maybe they are accidentally logged by google to build up a political profile of you that might one day be subpoena'd by a totalitarian regime looking for reasons to incarcerate you.
Either way, enjoy...
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Cool couch
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