Right Of Publicity

In reality, the names, likeness and other identifying characteristics of famous people are used commonly in commerce, such cases, which are increasing quickly, draw our attention and become social hot topic now. In China, the commercial values of people's identifying characteristics are protected under the law of personality, but this pattern has its defects. Many Civil Law countrys, such as German, have accepted new doctrines and recognize that identifying characteristics have commercial values. In American, judges and authors think it is a new property and name it as " Right of Publicity", this right has been accepted by many countries.The publicity rights doctrine, protects the right of an individual to control the control the commercial exploitation of his identity. Celebrity's "Image" initially limited to use of the celebrity's "name" or "likeness", but it has been extended by some courts and commentators to anything that "identifies" the celebrity. "connErcial" use meaning advertising or promotion, does not ordinarily include the use of a person's identity in news reporting, commentary, entertainment, works of fiction or nonfictioa Free speech and incidental to use celebrity's image defense to the right of publicity.The "right of publicity was recognized for the first time only forty years ago. Why did it not emerge sooner? The author traces the origins and development, of the right of publicity, suggesting that the answer is plural.What is the policy rationales behind the publicity rights doctrine? This is a puzzling question, most courts and authors think that the publicity right doctrine is firming grounded in economic, moral and consumer protection theories, but some commentators thought not so.Finally, this article raises that we should accept the reasonable parts, that we should recognize the commercial value of people's image is a property. As the right of publicity is the most, important part of merchandising right, so it contributes to construction the doctrine of merchandising right.