Categorizational Research Of The Right Of Publicity

The academic world has achieved consensus on that personality marks of natural personcontain some economic value and improving legislation to protect this value as soon as possible.However, whether such an economic value from the personality is a kind of legal interest derivedfrom personality rights or an independent right? Who enjoy the value, every member of society orjust celebrities? Which legislation model should we take, the general personality right model ofGermany，the right of publicity model of the USA, or establish our own style? The scholars differ alot on these questions. The right of publicity model of the USA has experienced60years ofdevelopment and formed a complete theoretical system. In the USA, the right of publicity is aproperty right belongs to every natural person, and it could be transferred and inherited. It was bornto handle the problem of commercial use the personality marks of natural person and can providecomprehensive protection to personality interests. The author believe that the right of publicitymodel is a considerable personality interests protection system which worth our attention andlearning from. With classifying the social characters under Habermas’s Public Sphere theoryguidance, the author tries to analyze the contents of the right of publicity.Part I of the paper firstly introduces some basic knowledge about the right of publicity:generated historical background and policy reasons for the right of publicity. In the next, afterdiscussing the subject and the scope of protection of the right of publicity, the author analyzes thecause and the standard of categorizational research of the right of publicity.In the part Ⅱ of the paper indicates the contents of the right of public figures, who constitutethe main body of the right of publicity. To begin with，the author takes public figures as anexample to explain the positive and negative power of the right of publicity. Thereafter, combinedwith some influential hot social issues, the author analyzes the protection issues of the right ofpublicity of some special public figures. Part III of the paper discusses the right of publicity of the political figures. Firstly, the authordecides the political figures still enjoy the right of publicity under the restrictions of theconstitutional freedom of expression principle. Next, the author interprets the key issue of the rightof publicity of political figures is to judge the context of the use. Finally, the author makes a briefanalysis to the right of publicity of the non-political figures involved in the political process orpolitical speech and deceased political figures.Part IV of the paper presents the right of publicity of common persons. Based upon theconclusion that common persons also enjoy the right of publicity and defendant’s use provecommercial value, and with analyzing the limitation of China’s current protection system ofpersonality interests，the author demonstrate the positive significance for China to absorb the rightof publicity mode in protecting the personality interests.