What are life story rights?
Life story rights are the legal rights to use an individual’s life story in a creative work, including books, plays, movies, TV shows, and other creative projects that are based on the life of an individual. In order to produce or create these works, the producer or creator must acquire rights to the life story from the individual. The scope of rights is based upon the agreement between the individual or owner of the story and the producer. The rights may include the right to create derivative works and adapt the story. The owner of the story can give their rights with various restrictions, including restrictions on the right to transfer or license the story to other parties.
What are the legal issues presented by life story rights?
Life story rights are closely related to the right of publicity, which protects an individual’s identity, including their name, likeness, voice, and other identifying characteristics, from unauthorized commercial exploitation. However, this area of law can be difficult to navigate because there is no federal right of publicity law. Each state has enacted its statutes regarding the right of publicity with varying degrees of protection for the individual. There is no statute protecting an individual’s life story, so violations of life story rights are brought under state-specific right of publicity statutes.
When creating a work based on an individual’s life story, the producer must also be cautious of defamation. Defamation is a statement that injures a third party’s reputation. To show defamation, a plaintiff must present evidence that the defendant presented a false statement as a fact, the defendant publicized or communicated this statement to another party, the statement was made negligently, and some harm was caused to the plaintiff’s reputation as a result of the statement. Each state additionally has a specific statute addressing defamation. Even when a producer or creator has an agreement in place granting the life story rights of an individual, they must be cautious to avoid making any defamatory statements in their work.
Why is an agreement for life story rights important?
A written agreement granting life story rights will help protect the licensor of the story from lawsuits pertaining to the unauthorized use of an individual’s story or right of publicity. Additionally, the producer or creator can argue for exclusivity in the agreement to ensure that they are the only party with the right to use the story in a creative work.
A written agreement for life story rights is also important for the individual granting the rights to their story. An individual can argue for certain parameters around the use of their story, including approval rights and a restriction on the rights to transfer or license the story.
An attorney can help parties to understand their rights, obligations, and limitations in a life story agreement and can protect the parties’ interests in negotiations for the contract. Contact our firm. Our experienced attorneys can provide solutions for any legal challenges you may face.
