The right of publicity protects persons against unauthorized uses of their identity, most typically their names, images, or voices. The right is in obvious tension with freedom of speech. Yet courts seeking to reconcile the right with the First Amendment have to date produced only a notoriously confused muddle of inconsistent constitutional doctrine. Robert Post discusses the framework for analyzing how the right of publicity should be squared with First Amendment principles.

Image courtesy of Robert Post

Image courtesy of interviewee. February 4, 2021