My Favorite Director and My Favorite Law Combined!!

Wel, American Apparel and Woody Allen have settled, depriving us of very interesting legal reading material, oh well...

In a statement read yesterday in front of the Court House, Mr. Allen said "I sued American Apparel because they calculatingly took my name, my likeness, and image and used them publicly to promote their business" and this settlement is "the largest ever paid under the New York Right to Privacy Law."

RFID Bill, New York State

The Radio Frequency Identification Right To Know Act, New York State bill A00222, seems to stalled... If voted, the act would require that retailers remove or disable all RFID tags before the customer exits the store. Retailers would also have to inform the public about their use of RFID tags by posting a notice.

Jackie Mason & New York Privacy Laws

Jackie Mason is suing Jews for Jesus. The evangelical group used Mr. Mason's image in one of its pamphlets.

The New York Times reports that Raoul Felder, Mr. Mason's lawyer, believes it is a violation of New York State civil rights law.

According to Section 50 of the New York Civil Rights law, "A person, firm or corporation that uses for advertising purposes, or for the purposes of trade, the name, portrait or picture of any living person without having first obtained the written consent of such person, or if a minor of his or her parent or guardian, is guilty of a misdemeanor."

New York state does not recognize any other privacy right than this one, the right of publicity. Looks like Jackie Mason has a good case.