Yesterday, it was reported by the Bleacher Report that Cleveland Cavaliers basketball star, Lebron James, was displeased with the fact that a brewer located in the Cleveland, Ohio area, Great Lakes Brewing Company may have misappropriated Lebron James' likeness in its advertising.
James complained that the local brewer used his likeness -- a picture of James drinking a can of their Dortmunder Gold Brew during the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 1 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the 2017 Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series -- in a Twitter post to promote a sale of its beer.
The brewery will now likely hear from Lebron's legal team and could be made to pay damages to James as a result of the alleged misappropriation. The Bleacher Report article notes that Lebron would typically request a payment of approximately $2,000,000.00 to use his likeness for such a purpose. Infringing upon or misappropriating another's intellectual property or publicity rights, though often seemingly harmless, can in many cases cause great harm to the rights holder and can be enough to sink an infringing business if the rights holder pursues an infringement claim.
This serves as yet another reminder of the need for caution when using a celebrity's likeness or another's intellectual property in connection with your business' advertising or the promotion of your brand or product, no matter how innocent or profitable the idea may seem.
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