From time to time, authors take a short cut, and instead of describing a hero, heroine, or villain, authors use a simile and the name of a celebrity. Without permission.
For that matter, some cover art uses the body of one celebrity and the face of another. Without the permission of either celebrity.
Don't do it.
Celebrities, quite rightly, IMHO, are starting to sue.
For additional information, follow Joelle Rich on Lexology and elsewhere:
http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=52cb5031-7d22-45bd-bc31-0aafc78f19e1&utm_source=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed&utm_medium=HTML+email+-+Body+-+General+section&utm_campaign=Lexology+subscriber+daily+feed&utm_content=Lexology+Daily+Newsfeed+2014-06-13&utm_term=
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
SPACE SNARK™ http://www.spacesnark.com/
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Interesting. I've never run across an example of this particular "shortcut".
ReplyDeleteClearly the cover-art thing is a violation of the celebrity's rights. But simply MENTIONING a famous person? How can that act be legally forbidden? Like mentioning a brand name in fiction, surely it can't be proscribed or prosecuted unless the reference is derogatory. (BTW, an example of that "shortcut": In ROSEMARY'S BABY, when Rosemary meets the young woman who later gets killed by the coven -- made to look like suicide, I think -- she mentally compares her to Gina Lollabrigida. [sp.?]).
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