You Can Run, But You Can't Hide.

By Scott Swift

When Fred Goldman won a $20 million judgment against O.J. Simpson for the wrongful death of his son, Ronald Goldman, it is unknown whether Mr. Goldman had any idea of the challenge he would face trying to collect the judgment. Nonetheless, Mr. Goldman and his attorneys are testing a novel legal theory in an attempt to force O.J. Simpson to hand over his right of publicity to Mr. Goldman.

According to a recent lawsuit filed by Mr. Goldman against O.J. Simpson (http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,212338,00.html), Goldman is asking a court to transfer ownership and control of O.J. Simpson's right of publicity to the Goldman family. If Mr. Goldman prevails, the Goldman family, and not Mr. Simpson, will be able to profit off the commercial exploitation of Mr. Simpson name, likeness, and image.

While most courts agree that an indvidiual has the right to exploit and protect their likeness, and transfer these rights to others, no court has ever forced an individual to transfer his or her right of publicity in order to satisfy a civil judgment rendered against that person. Setting aside the issue of whether Mr. Simpson's name even has value, it is  unlikely that a court will rule in Mr. Goldman's favor given the highly personal nature of one's right of publicity,

Scott Swift is a Senior Claims Counsel and Loss Control Counsel at Media/Professional Insurance.

Comments

[JonathanYeisley]

This is a great article.