California Court of Appeal

In recording artists' claims arising from depictions of them in a comic book series, defamation claims fail where no reasonable reader would believe that any portion of the depiction relating to plaintiffs was factual; a triable issue exists in misappropriation claims, as to whether the use of likenesses qualifies as "transformative use."

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/19/2002
• Published 06/19/2002

Judges

• HASTINGS, J.

Court

• California Court of Appeal

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione, Julia L. Ross, Corey J. Spivey and Vincent H. Chieffo, Los Angeles, for Plaintiffs and Appellants., Victoria T. Vaught, Conway, SC, and Steven Springer for National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation as Amicus Curiae on behalf of Plaintiffs and Appellants.


• For Appellees:
  
• Weissmann, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman & Silverman, Anjani Mandavia, Julie B. Waldman and Michael Bergman, Beverly Hills, for Defendants and Respondents.