LITTLE ROCK -- The offers to license Frank Broyles' name came in as soon as the Arkansas football legend retired last year, from Broyles books to Broyles tailgating grills and Broyles pre-cooked meat.
Relatives of the 90-year-old former coach and athletic director worry that current state law wouldn't prevent businesses from using Broyles' name to sell their goods, so they are supporting a bill that would restrict the commercial use of celebrities' names and images -- though some experts warn that such laws can invite lawsuits and restrict free speech.
"We're not necessarily interested in marketing Dad," said Hank Broyles, his son. "We want to prevent just using a picture or likeness, and adding it to whatever that company happens to be promoting."
The bill, which was introduced state Sen. Jon Woods, R-Springdale, and state Rep. Greg Leding, D-Fayetteville, would give celebrities the exclusive commercial rights to their names and likenesses. Those rights could be willed to heirs for 10 years after a celebrity's death, though that time could be extended if the rights are still in active use.
If approved, Arkansas would join about 20 states that have established publicity rights laws, though more than a dozen other states have had courts recognize those rights.
Any unauthorized use of someone's likeness could be prosecuted as a misdemeanor, and celebrities or their families could sue for damages.
The bill has raised some questions.
Leding said he's heard from representatives of the film and video-game industries who were concerned that they might be sued by people depicted in their products. He said he and Woods may change the bill before it is presented to legislative committees.
"We want to make sure that the individual is protected, but we're certainly not looking to cut into anybody's ability to shoot a biopic or create a more entertaining video game," he said Friday.
They have included an exception for news media, but Stephen Clowney, a professor at the University of Arkansas School of Law, said he doesn't think the current bill goes far enough to protect First Amendment rights, particularly for art.
"There is a cost to it, and I think it's important for people to see that," he said.
In California, "Wheel of Fortune" presenter Vanna White won a lawsuit against Samsung for a commercial in which a robot wearing pearls and a wig turned letters on a screen, which a federal appeals court ruled was an illegal use of White's identity. Civil rights icon Rosa Parks sued the rap group Outkast under Michigan's publicity law for using her name as the title of a song. Both sides eventually settled out of court.
Kevin Vick, a Los Angeles lawyer who often represents people sued under publicity statutes, argued that those laws can sometimes become "a vehicle by which you go after the content creators."
"There needs to be breathing space so that people can make movies and write stories about celebrities," Vick said. "That's a big part of our culture."
But Jonathan Faber, the founder of Luminary Group, an intellectual property consulting firm, said creating a publicity law would be valuable as a roadmap for both celebrities and those who write about them or depict them.
"Every area of the law is potentially subject to abuse, but that's not the reason to disavow the law itself," he said.
State Desk on 01/26/2015