The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently held, in Jules Jordan Video Inc. v. 144942 Canada Inc.1 that a California right of publicity claim based on the distribution of counterfeit DVDs containing performances of an adult film star was preempted by federal copyright law. In Jordan Video, the Ninth Circuit relied upon its 2006 decision in Laws v. Sony Music Entertainment Inc.2 which similarly held that a California right of publicity claim based upon the distribution of CDs containing a vocal sample from plaintiff’s prior sound recording was preempted.
In Laws, the court distinguished earlier cases involving commercial imitation of the voices of Bette Midler and Tom Waits. In this article, we discuss Jordan Video, Laws and prior Ninth Circuit cases illustrating the standards applied to determine whether preemption bars a right of publicity claim.
Section 301 of Copyright Act
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