Posted on 12/07/2006 6:19:39 PM PST by Terpfen
DECEMBER 7--Along with a sweeping management reorganization and shrinking stock price, Yahoo! also has to contend with a lawsuit filed against it by the gridiron's golden boy, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who claims that the online giant improperly used his image to promote its fantasy football game. In a federal complaint (a copy of which you'll find below), Brady, 29, charges Yahoo! used his photo without authorization in a September 2006 Sports Illustrated ad and in banner ads on Yahoo! Sports pages. In the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court by a Brady management company, the three-time Super Bowl champion notes that fantasy football is a $4 billion industry and that the Yahoo! fantasy site is the Internet's largest, with 4.4 million users last year. Brady alleges that Yahoo!'s use of his image connotes a false endorsement and, as such, is seeking unspecified punitive and compensatory damages against the company.
(Excerpt) Read more at thesmokinggun.com ...
NFL ping fodder.
This is a really difficult part for the courts to decide. The guy who took the picture owns the picture absent some pre-exisiting contract.
But the law doesn't really know exactly what you can do with that picture.
That's the bottom line.
This isn't difficult at all. Brady owns the rights to his own likeness. He sued General Motors in 2005 for the same thing, using his likeness without permission.
Rumor has it that Brady will retire after this season and pursue an acting career in Hollywood.
Man I hope not..
I think you own your own likeness for advertising purposes, but not for reporting or publicity purposes. But it's vague there.
You could take a picture of me out on the street tomorrow and post it on the web, which is international, essentially.
I have no hope of suing successfully for the latter. If you're trying to make money off my likeness (good luck), I have a chance.
Well, you aren't represented by the NFL Players' Association.
It all relates to attempting to make money. Sure I could take a picture of you and post it on my website just sitting there and you couldn't do didly. But if I used that picture to try to sell some service, or try to sell access to your picture and I don't have your permission things then you can stop me. There's some funkiness with "candid" shots in "public" areas that the papparazi uses to their advantage but for the most part if you're using a picture of a famous person to try to sell a service you better have a release form signed and witnessed.
I heard that he is dating the Olson Twins.
The funny part is that Brady and the Patriots are the anthisis of Fantasy Football. The are about winning not individual stats.
Yeah I learned that my first year doing the FF thing, had Brady and he never gave me jack for points.
Well he was great in that Family Guy episode.
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