The Right of Publicity: Privacy Reimagined for a Public World, by Jennifer E. Rothman

Abstract

In The Right of Publicity, Professor Jennifer E. Rothman of Loyola Law School offers an in-depth genealogy of the right of publicity, while navigating through scholarly narratives surrounding its origin. The book contests the current body of literature, which situates the origin of the right of publicity in privacy law. Instead of conceptualizing the right of publicity as another form of intellectual property right, the work traces the right of publicity law to (re-) articulate it as a personal right. Stemming from the author’s expertise in intellectual property law and the right of publicity, this book challenges readers to consider the implications of interpreting the right of publicity as a transferrable property right. The author masterfully parses through and critiques the current understandings of the right of publicity to offer an alternative model to be implemented in publicity law. This book review is available in Osgoode Hall Law Journal: https://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol57/ iss1/10