If You Want To Have Sex With Charlie Sheen, You Have To Give Him The Copyrights On Any Photos You Take Of Him

from the wait,-what? dept

Wed, Nov 25th 2015 11:39am — Mike Masnick

As you may have heard, last week actor Charlie Sheen announced that he is HIV positive, which got lots of news coverage. Related to that, In Touch magazine produced the non disclosure agreement (NDA) that it claims "Charlie Sheen had his sexual partners sign when they came to his house." I guess if you're a celebrity known for sleeping around, this is the kind of thing you have your lawyers cook up for you. But what struck me as interesting was that, beyond the basic NDA language, there was some copyright language concerning any images, videos or sound recordings. You can understand why Sheen (and his lawyers) don't want anyone taking pictures of him or even talking about the relationship to book or magazine writers, so they include some bizarre copyright transfer language for the partner to agree to:

It's a little difficult to read, so here are the relevant sections:

1.3 No Participation in Books or Articles. Without Your advance express written consent, I will not give or participate in any interviews, write or be a source for, any articles, books, programs, or stories about You or the Related Parties, whether truthful, fictionalized, on the record, or "off the record." If I breach these promises, My copyright in any such unauthorized material shall be automatically and immediately transferred by Me to You as of its creation and in perpetuity, and this Agreement shall constitute a valid transfer of copyright.

1.4 Images and Recordings. Without Your advance express written consent, I will not create any photographs, movies, videos, sound or image recordings or otherwise capture any depictions or likenesses of You, Your family, friends, associates or employees ("Images and Recordings"). If I breach these promises any images and Recordings I create shall be considered Confidential Information, and My copyright in them shall be deemed automatically and immediately transferred by Me to You as of its creation and in perpetuity, and this Agreement shall constitute a valid transfer of copyright. If you expressly direct Me to create any Images and Recordings, they will be Confidential Information in which I have no legal rights or interest whatsoever, including any copyright, trademark, "moral rights," patent, or other similar rights, and I convey, transfer and assign to You all of My right, title and interest (if any) of whatever kind or nature in all Images and Recordings as of their creation and in perpetuity, and this Agreement shall constitute a valid transfer of copyrights.

Of course, the "in perpetuity" is not really accurate, as you can't give up your termination rights, even with a contractual agreement, to take back your copyrights after 35 years, but, really, that's besides the point. I do wonder how valid Section 1.3 is at all. If the partner is interviewed for a book or a magazine article, there likely isn't any copyright for Sheen's partner to transfer in the first place, as nothing is "fixed" by that partner. Furthermore, in most cases, the book or magazine author/publisher would likely have a strong fair use claim if Sheen tried to have those quotes deleted via copyright. If anything, this just seems like a way to make it sound scary to go out and talk to a magazine or book author.

The transfer of copyright in the photos and videos at least seems a bit more legit, if still sketchy. Of course, once again, though, this shows where copyright is being used directly for censorship purposes, entirely divorced from its supposed purpose of providing incentives to create.

Charlie Sheen Non disclosure01 (PDF)Charlie Sheen Non disclosure01 (Text)

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Filed Under: charlie sheen, copyright

20 Comments

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Scote, 25 Nov 2015 @ 11:45am

Gonna need something more valuable...
The agreement starts out:

"In consideration for the opportunity to spend time and associate with You[Sheen]..."

Yeah, I'm gonna want something of actual worth in order to sign away so many rights... :-p
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2015 @ 11:55am

"there likely isn't any copyright for Sheen's partner to transfer in the first place,"

That would come from the "Write" in "I will not give or participate in any interviews, write or be a source for, any articles, books, programs, or stories about You or the Related Parties"

In which case there would.
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NeghVar (profile), 25 Nov 2015 @ 12:24pm

Who, in any state of mind, would have sex with him since he has HIV. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/business/charlie-sheen-hiv-positive.html
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- Kelledin (profile), 25 Nov 2015 @ 12:29pm
  
  Re:
  Other HIV-positive people? I expect such unfortunate people probably form groups where they can be sexually active without fear of infecting others.
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- DanA, 25 Nov 2015 @ 8:39pm
  
  Re:
  For someone who is actively being treated for HIV and consequently has a extremely low viral load (which most people being treated achieve) there is a extremely low chance of transmission*. Obviously with any new partner it is vital to discuss the risk and what viral load means, since low risk is still something they need to consent to. However for monogamous sexual partners (which, granted, Sheen is unlikely to fall into) unprotected sex with a undetectable viral load is relatively safe, though there is always the chance (~2%/year after the first two years) of the treatment failing to maintain undetectable viral loads. Particularly by combining treatment and condom usage it is possible for individuals to have responsible and safe sex between HIV+ and HIV- people.
  
  *One study (covering ~20,000 HIV+ people) had a single case of transmission but that couple was having unprotected sex before treatment began but they can't rule out that the transmission occurred after treatment began.
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Kelledin (profile), 25 Nov 2015 @ 12:26pm

So how many Shades of Sheen is this?
Wow...way to kill the mood, Charlie. I thought just navigating the so-called "consent minefield" was bad enough (to be fair, I suppose it is a minefield for people who are bad at picking up on non-verbal signals). So how might this play with the contractual obligations of some of his acting gigs? Could a "Charlie Sheen+??? Sex Tape" become copyrighted property of, say, CBS or whatever, if the intercourse happens to take place in Sheen's on-set trailer or dressing room?

P.S. I am reminded of this hilarious short as well (nothing to do with copyright; warning potentially NSFW language):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLhH1axWiTI

And of course, one of Tim's old posts (also potentially NSFW language):

https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20120905/17053320287/exytime-thanks-to-easily-exploitabl e-system-three-lawyers-have-patented-sex.shtml
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktjmc59PWWM (since the original Youtube embed doesn't display)
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- Ninja (profile), 26 Nov 2015 @ 2:57am
  
  Re: So how many Shades of Sheen is this?
  Makes one wonder, with the odds of having an intercourse after going through this 'legal instrument' he still managed to get AIDS. Talk about winning the lottery in reversal.
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  - Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2015 @ 11:39am
    
    Re: Re: So how many Shades of Sheen is this?
    More likely a case of those willing go through the legal instrument are high risk people, desiring a name on their bedpost.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2015 @ 12:37pm

The whole copyright aspect looks exremely dubious, legally speaking. I'm not a lawyer, but thanks to the late, very lamented, groklaw, I do know that transfer of copyright requires a "writing", which I believe requires a very specific listing of exactly what copyrights have been transferred. This would make an "automatic transfer" of copyright such as is demanded here legally impossible. The most you can achieve is a legal commitment to transfer future copyrights, but that doesn't seem to be required by this language. I think if anyone broke this agreement, the most they could be successfully sued for under this agreement if a failure to honor the no photos without permission.
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2015 @ 1:00pm

This sucks
You probably couldn't even tell someone "Charlie Sheen made me sign a fucking NDA" and mean it.
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Adrian Lopez, 25 Nov 2015 @ 2:51pm

How low is your self esteem if you'll sign an NDA just to have sex with Charlie Sheen? Hell... how is your self esteem if you'll have sex with Charlie Sheen?
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Digitari, 25 Nov 2015 @ 2:55pm

WINNING?
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Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2015 @ 7:03pm

Mike Masnick just can't stand it when copyright law is enforced. Bawk!
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- Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2015 @ 4:15am
  
  Re:
  Have a DMCA vote, antidirt.
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blogagog (profile), 25 Nov 2015 @ 7:28pm

sexxy sex
That contract is the main reason I haven't had sex with Charlie Sheen. Well, that and I'm a guy and not into that. And he never asked me to have sex. But mostly, the contract.
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Pixelation, 25 Nov 2015 @ 7:54pm

I've been dying to release the photo of Sheen blowing me, but NDA/copyright...
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SynchPedro86, 26 Nov 2015 @ 8:17pm

He obviously just wanted to come "clean" in case somebody ratted him out. And I honestly feel sorry for Bree Olsen, who could have had her life ruined if he had exposed her to HIV. As a former porn star, she knew the legal importance of being tested. Charlie had no right to conceal this vital information from her, nor anybody. He is lying if he says otherwise.
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Anonymous Coward, 27 Nov 2015 @ 1:20am

Don't forget!
It's imperative that you wear a condom unless you're suicidal or Magic Johnson.
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- John Fenderson (profile), 27 Nov 2015 @ 6:22am
  
  Re: Don't forget!
  Its' imperative that you don't have sex with Charlie Sheen.
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Anonymous Coward, 30 Nov 2015 @ 8:04am

what about with Scarlett Johansson?
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