Hebrew University Hired Detective To Get Printing Store To Print Einstein Shirt... Just To Threaten To Sue

from the shakedown dept

Wed, Aug 10th 2011 3:20pm — Mike Masnick

This one is a couple months old, but I'm cleaning out some of the archives, and the story is still interesting. In the past, we've covered the rise of "publicity" rights, and in particular have mentioned Hebrew University's somewhat questionable belief that it controls every photo of Albert Einstein. Apparently, the university is so aggressive that it hired a private "detective" who literally went out to a print shop, asked the proprietor to print up a shirt with an Einstein photo on it as a "test," took a photo of the shirt... and then a few weeks later the shop owner got a legal nastygram demanding thousands of dollars for daring to print a photo of Einstein. The guy went to the press and noted that he felt tricked by the university. Once it became public, Hebrew University backed down, but it just goes to show the ridiculous aggressiveness with which some are trying to enforce these questionable "publicity rights."

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Filed Under: albert einstein, publicity rights
Companies: hebrew university

21 Comments

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crade (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 2:59pm

Kinda makes you wonder how many settled cases there are like this for each exposed one.
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2011 @ 3:49pm
  
  Re:
  It is all relativity!
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- Jay (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 3:50pm
  
  Re:
  The investigator used to work for Microsoft.
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Reverend Dak (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 3:45pm

The "detective" is the pirate, not the printer!

So if I get caught selling drugs to a cop, can say I was "testing" them?
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- Bergman (profile), 31 Oct 2012 @ 8:35am
  
  Re:
  Actually, the detective was NOT a pirate, nor was the printer!
  
  The detective was the employee and agent of the rights holder, and acted on the orders of the rights holder to purchase a print run of the image.
  
  If the authorized agent of a copyright owner hires you to make copies of that intellectual property, it's no different than Universal hiring a disk pressing company to make a few thousand DVDs for them.
  
  No violation of copyright law occurred. But an attempt at criminal fraud and extortion DID occur!
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A Guy, 10 Aug 2011 @ 4:30pm

No one was a "pirate." Even IF the image is copyrighted, it is almost certainly fair use for individual members of the public to put one on their T-shirt for personal use.(imho)

Even if that's not the case and the university holds a copyright on the image, the copy was clearly authorized by the university. A PI (agent of the copyright holder) requested the print to be made.

The real questions are "Will the T-shirt shop sue the university for racketeering?" and "How complicit was the lawyer?/Can sanctions apply?"
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2011 @ 4:37pm
  
  Re:
  But they're claiming "publicity rights", not copyright.
  
  I have to admit I don't know the law, but if I understand this correctly, they are saying you can't publish ANY picture of Einstein even if you HAVE the copyright, unless you go through them. You shouldn't have the right to control things to that extent. And that goes double for dead people.
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  - Killercool (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 4:48pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Even more importantly, Einstein is without a doubt a public figure (to say the least). Even if publicity rights were a thing, and I don't think they actually are, he wouldn't qualify.
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    - Matt (profile), 11 Aug 2011 @ 10:22am
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      Under the (bad) law of publicity rights, he has them _because_ he is a public figure. His celebrity is precisely what the right protects.
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  - A Guy, 10 Aug 2011 @ 5:01pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I don't agree that publicity rights are legally enforceable, and they certainly shouldn't be, but the same logic applies. Even if the university believed they had this made up right that doesn't exist in the United States, the university authorized the T-shirt shop by sending their agent to him.
    
    To me, this seems to be racketeering.
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    - A Guy, 10 Aug 2011 @ 10:47pm
      
      Re: Re: Re:
      I guess I should modify that, some rights do exist, but in the case of this university, it is being applied so broadly that it cannot be constitutional. Preventing commentary in the form of books of the sharing of public domain photographs is ridiculous and an anathema to everything the bill of rights stands for.
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English University..., 10 Aug 2011 @ 5:03pm

I wonder if this is an act to sabotage the Jews? Otherwise they are doing a big disfavor to all the proud Jewish folks. :)
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2011 @ 7:33pm

so the jews are claiming to "own" other jews??!! how very nazish of them, they make hitler proud today
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killscar (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 8:00pm

Careful!
This thread is heading down a reckless path here, let's get back to piracy talk! I haven't heard someone hate on Mike yet!
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- A Guy, 10 Aug 2011 @ 10:01pm
  
  Re: Careful!
  /Obligatory Mike Hate
  
  Damn you Mike Mansick!!!
  
  Your blog points out much of the idiocy and logical fallacies that our entrenched interests rely upon to shakedown citizens and lobby (read bribe)politicians for better (read worse) intellectual property laws.
  
  How are we ever going to survive if we cannot shakedown all of our customers and admirers for unconscionable amounts of money?
  
  YOU ARE STEALING THE JETS AND LIMOS FROM OUR CORPORATE EXECUTIVES AND THEIR DISTANT DESCENDANTS. THEY MAY HAVE TO *GASP* WORK IF THESE IDEAS CATCH ON.
  /end obligatory mike hate
  
  There ftfy
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 10 Aug 2011 @ 8:39pm

They are quickly using the copyright troll path?
We've seen here on TechDirt, contracts allowing tracking firms to create the infringement so they can then capture IP's and have them shaken down by law firms.
How is this any different?

Lawsuits are the new way to make money.
Copyright Trolls, Patent Trolls, Publicity Rights Trolls...
Hey but they are helping the economy... we need to build a shit ton more bridges for them to live under.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2011 @ 9:26pm

Why
Who in hell would want a picture of Einstein or any other stein?
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Maggie Kaye, 11 Aug 2011 @ 4:14am

Counter Suit
I wonder if the store owner will counter sue the university. I'd say he has an excellent case. To the lawyers out there...any takers?
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- Matt (profile), 11 Aug 2011 @ 10:30am
  
  Re: Counter Suit
  For what? Being mean?
  
  Publicity rights have got to go. They are stupid, and the source of much ridiculous law. A reasonably compelling argument could be made that they are unconstitutional - they clearly violate the First Amendment, they serve no compelling state interest, and there is no (even arguably) valid basis for them in the language of the Constitution (copyrights at least have an arguably valid basis). In any event, as a society we should be fighting as hard as possible against the perception that fame is a path to success rather than a result of it.
  
  But, notwithstanding that they are not much help, they are the law of the land. And there is not yet a recognized defense of entrapment for torts. Hebrew University was within its rights, if not exactly classy, in what it did.
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