CHICAGO - In one of the few programs I’ll have time to attend — making and renewing relationships with other trademark practitioners is just too important to pass up — I spent some time today learning more about how different countries approach the right of publicity. The International Trademark Association’s session on the “Right of Publicity Around the World” emphasized that the rights of publicity, privacy, and free speech we recognize in the United States are not necessarily the same rights other countries recognize. Take these cases for example:

• In Argentina, soccer superstar Diego Maradona obtained an injunction enjoining publication of a book titled, “Diego Maradona: The 1000 Most Famous Phrases in His Career.”
• In Germany, Princess Caroline of Monaco won a right of privacy case against the publisher of photos depicting her skiing, horseback riding, and doing other activities in public. The European Court of Human Rights found that the public did not have a legitimate right to know what the princess did in her private life.
• In Spain, a court found that photos depicting celebrities on vacation could not be published without the celebrities’ consent.
• In the United Kingdom, supermodel Naomi Campell prevailed over a British tabloid who published a photograph of her leaving a Narcotics Anonymous meeting.

In each of these cases, the plaintiff prevailed over the publisher. Suffice it to say, the results may very well have been different if the claims had been brought in the United States.

Any chance international courts will evolve into a unified approach to the right of publicity? The presenters believe we’re a long way away from that.