Comparative study of exploiting the fame of celebrities in video games

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 M.A in Private Law, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor of Private Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The use of the identities of celebrities in video games has increased the attraction of the game and has a great impact on attracting audiences. That is why gaming companies are so keen using them in games. Assuming that permission to use celebrities in the game has not already been obtained, the legal systems in question have no doubt about the need to protect the celebrity. However, there are different ways to protect the rights of celebrities. In the United States, the institution of the right of publicity, in Britain, the institution of the Passing-off and in France and Germany the right of personality is used. Naturally, the conditions and effects of each of these institutions are different, which is discussed in this article. In the Iranian legal system, in the legislative system, there is no special text dedicated to this issue. However, it seems that if the use of another reputation causes damage to his personality, compensation can be claimed by invoking the institution of personality rights. Also, in case the use of another reputation has increased the sales of the game, the game company will be obliged to compensate the celebrity for the amount of profit earned from this place.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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Private Law
Volume 18, Issue 2
Autumn & Winter
October 2021
Pages 561-591

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