United States Ninth Circuit

In this right of publicity case, plaintiff professional football players brought suit against defendant Electronic Arts for the alleged unauthorized use of their likenesses. The district court's denial of defendant's anti-SLAPP motion to strike the complaint is affirmed, where defendant's use of plaintiffs' likenesses is not protected under the First Amendment as "incidental use," as the use of their likenesses is not incidental, but rather is central to defendant's main commercial purpose, which is to create a realistic virtual football simulation involving former and current NFL teams.

Appellate Information

• Decided 01/07/2015
• Published 01/07/2015

Judges

• Fisher

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel