Any lawyers here?

[deznice]

I have a quick question regarding law...

If I made a t-shirt to sell making fun of a celebrity and sold it for a profit, could I be sued for anything by them? what about royalties? would I owe any?

[Cubby]

Originally Posted by deznice

I have a quick question regarding law...

If I made a t-shirt to sell making fun of a celebrity and sold it for a profit, could I be sued for anything by them? what about royalties? would I owe any?

Is it Mel Gibson?

[deznice]

Originally Posted by spaceboy

Are you using their image or likeness?

yes

[deznice]

Originally Posted by Cubby

Is it Mel Gibson?

yeah could i get sued?

[Cubby]

I don't fuckin' know... but I'm glad my guess was right!

[Wildgift]

here's the old saying: your mom and i have never met or been married, but i could sue her for divorce...

my specialty is real estate litigation, but as i recall, you cannot use a likeness w/o consent. i would say you ABSOLUTELY could get sued; who would win is something else.

but: ask yourself this: even assuming mel or whomever would want to bring out the cannons to kill a mosquito, who can afford the lawyers to fight this? plus, i would imagine that if he really cared, he could get an injunction against you to make you stop, and then sue for damages, etc.

probably not worth it.

my .02

[devilishone]

I think that perhaps the police mug shot would be ok as its a public domain image... but I know fuck all about american law ;])

[spooky]

paradoies are protected under law in america in most cases, thats why family guy and south park get away with what they do. however, anyone can sue you, and essentially keep doing so until youre bankrupt from legal costs of defending yourself. that said, i doubt your idea is good enough that youll be making the kind of money that would make them take notice of you, so i wouldnt worry about it. and a good idea alone is virtually worthless without the money to produce, and the means to distribute. so knock yourself out, youll be fine.