The nerve!

I don't do this kind of photography and it won't affect me personally, but the principle is so important that we need to make a lot of noise. This from ASMP:

The California legislature is engaged in a sneak attack on photographers. Do you remember the really bad bill that the Creative Management Group and Marilyn Monroe LLC attempted to push through in NY last month? Well, they are at it again. This time, it is happening in California. Worse, this time they are trying to rush it through in stealth mode. They have convinced some members of the Assembly and CA Senator Kuehl to take an existing bill dealing with stem cell research, delete all of its contents, and substitute a retroactive right of publicity bill! The effect of this substitution is to avoid going through all of the normal, preliminary steps that would have been required if the bill had been introduced as a new bill, so that it can be enacted quickly and without notice to interested parties.

This bill affects all photographers, not just California residents. Anyone licensing a photograph of a celebrity who has died a resident of California would be affected.

If enacted, this bill would make California’s right of publicity retroactive going back many decades, so that any celebrity who died a resident of California over the past almost-100 years would have a right of publicity that would pass automatically to his or her residuary beneficiaries. That means that, even if your use of a photo of a California celebrity was legal when you licensed it last year, that past usage may now suddenly become illegal, subjecting you to liability, damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees! It would also mean that, even if you paid licensing fees in the past for using a dead celebrity’s photo, the people you should have paid may suddenly have changed retroactively, and you may now be subjected to additional licensing fees and liabilities!

The current bill, Senate Bill 771, is being rushed through the state legislature right now by Senator Sheila Kuehl. At this point, it is almost certain to have passed in the State Assembly. It is crucial that you act right away.

Please fax a copy of the letter below on your letterhead to the five members of the CA Senate Judiciary Committee, where the bill is heading next:

Ellen Corbett, chair - Fax: 916-327-2433
Tom Harman, vp - Fax: 916-445-9263
Dick Ackerman - Fax: 916-445-9754
Darrell Steinberg - Fax: 916-323-2263
Sheila Kuehl - Fax: 916-324-4823

The actual wording of the Senate bill, SB771, is posted at http://www.asmp.org/news/spec2007/CA_publicity_bill.php

Also, feel free to pass this memo on to other photographers you know who may not have gotten the word, including non-residents of California. This bill would affect anyone, anywhere, who licenses a photo of a celebrity who turns out to be a California resident when he or she dies.

Comments

[Steve Boyko]

It's so bizarre that one can replace a bill with another, totally different one without having to restart the whole process.

The official link is http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_771&sess=CUR&house=S as far as I can see. This is not a hoax.