Entertainment

Right of Publicity

Has someone infringed your right to publicity? Individuals and corporations are not allowed to profit from the commercial use of your name, likeness, or mark of identify. The right of publicity is a statutory right recognized in Illinois under the Illinois Right of Publicity Act (IRPA). You may have a claim if your publicity right has been commercially exploited.

The elements of a statutory right of publicity claim in Illinois are as follows:
•Use of an individual’s identity during his or her lifetime
•For commercial purposes
•Without prior written consent from the appropriate person or persons or their authorized representative

Trademarks

Are you an individual in the entertainment industry or a business owner looking to identify a product to your company? Are you an individual looking to identify as the source for particular services? Then we are the right law firm for you, as we file trademarks/service marks and litigate such matters in state and federal courts

As a trademark/service mark owner you may sue an infringer for monetary damages or injunctive relief. Proper registration of a trademark/service mark with the USPTO will be a great defense in future litigation regarding ownership, as registration can be used as chain of title to prove ownership rights to your intellectual property.

Elements of a Trademark Infringement claim:
• Plaintiff owns a valid and legally protectable trademark
• Defendant used that mark or a similar mark without consent
• Defendant’s use of the mark at issue has caused a likelihood of confusion

Copyright

Are you a young artist or successful entrepreneur looking to protect your creative ideas? At Utreras Law Offices we protect your ideas by filing them with the Federal Copyright Office and litigate matters when someone infringes your intellectual property right.

The moment an artist puts their expression of their idea in tangible form there is copyright protection. However, to have standing to sue in federal court for copyright infringement an individual must have a registered copyright for the work they are seeking to protect. Injunctive relief and monetary damages are available in winning lawsuits.
The following are the types of work that are protectible under the Copyright Act

• Literary Works;
• Works of the Visual Arts;
• Sounds Recordings;
• Works of the Performing Arts (which includes music, lyrics, screenplays, etc.);
• Motion Pictures / Audio Visual Works;
• Mask Works; or
• Single Serial Issues

A copyright infringement claim requires a plaintiff to prove
• ownership of a valid copyright
• actionable copying by the defendant of constituent elements of the work that are original.

Entertainment Agreements

Are you a production company looking for legal advice or someone to draft an agreement or an individual immersed in entertainment deciding on whether to sign a contract? We represent both companies and individuals in entertainment contract drafting and negotiations. It is your job to worry about the business or artistic aspects of entertainment. Leave the legal problems to us, as we are well equipped to solve your potential legal issues.
The types of entertainment agreements we work with include: talent agreements, screen play agreements, record label agreements, music publishing agreements, and general production agreements.

Right to Privacy

These days with all the access to technology we have the right to privacy is becoming limited every day. However, a right to privacy still exists and individuals do have a right to privacy when there is a reasonable expectation of privacy which must be subjectively and objectively reasonable. Illinois recognizes four privacy torts which include intrusion upon seclusion, misappropriation (right to publicity), false light, and publication of private facts.

Intrusion Upon Seclusion Elements:
• an unauthorized intrusion or prying into the plaintiff’s seclusion
• the intrusion must be offensive or objectionable to a reasonable man
• the matter upon which the intrusion occurs must be private
• the intrusion causes anguish and suffering.

False light Elements:
• the defendant, acting with reckless disregard
• placed you before the public in a false light
• in a manner that was highly offensive to a reasonable person.

Publication of Private Facts Elements:
• A Tribune gave publicity
• to your private, not public, life
• the matter publicized was highly offensive to a reasonable person
• the matter publicized was not of legitimate public concern.

Defamation

Has someone made a false statement about you? Are you afraid of your reputation being damaged? If so, you can take action by filing a defamation claim. No one should be able to tarnish your reputable name without ramifications.

Under Illinois law, the elements of a defamation claim are:
• the defendant made a false statement about the plaintiff
• there was an unprivileged publication to a third party
• fault by the defendant amounting to at least negligence
• the publication damaged the plaintiff.