Using Your Picture For Commercial Gain
TikTok Allows Use of Others’ Likenesses, Voices, Content Class Action
TikTok, Inc. runs the TikTok social media platform where users can post videos and gain a following, but they can also advertise and make money. However, the complaint alleges that TikTok violates the Right to Publicity laws, because, it claims, it permits users to pirate the images, voices, and content of others to sell counterfeit Read more
Whitepages Right of Publicity Illinois and Ohio Settlement
Whitepages, Inc. is settling a class action alleging it violated the Illinois Right of Publicity Act and Ohio Revised Code § 2741.01 regarding its directory and people-search services. The company permits free initial searches that it uses to sell subscriptions, and the complaint alleged it uses individuals’ names, ages, contact information, likenesses, and other information Read more
Seamless Contacts Commercial Use of Private Information Illinois Class Action
Seamless Contacts, Inc. offers subscriptions to information, primarily intended for salespeople and marketers. But the complaint for this class action alleges that Seamless uses the identies of people who are not connected with it to sell its subscriptions and that it sells personal information without the consent of the persons involved. The complaint asserts, “Illinois Read more
Ancestry.com Use of Photos for Advertising Without Consent Indiana Class Action
Ancestry.com, Inc. and two related companies sell subscriptions for access to the Ancestry.com website, and the complaint for this class action alleges that, to promote its subscriptions, it uses the names and personalities of unrelated persons, without their consent. The complaint claims that this is a violation of an Indiana Right of Publicity law that Read more
Seamless Subscriptions Use of Names and Personas California Class Action
Seamless Contacts, Inc. operates a website, www.seamless.ai, that it touts as an “unlimited lead-generating machine!” But the complaint for this class action alleges that the company uses the “profiles and personas” of unrelated persons to advertise its services and subscription plans, without their permission. The complaint brings suit against Seamless, claiming, “California law recognizes individual’s Read more
ZoomInfo Names and Info Used to Sell Subscriptions California Class Action
ZoomInfo Technologies, Inc. sells subscriptions that offer access to information on private individuals. But the complaint for this class action alleges that it also displays the names and information of certain individuals, without their permission, as teaser profiles, to sell its subscriptions to potential customers. Read more
Intelius.com Use of Individuals’ Identities for Promotion Illinois Class Action
PeopleConnect, Inc. runs the website Intelius.com that offers subscribers “detailed reports” on other people. The complaint for this class action bring suit against PeopleConnect and Intelius, LLC “to put an end to their unlawful practice of using the names and identities of Illinois residents without their consent in order to promote its service.” Read more
Classmates Use of Names and Likenesses to Sell Products Illinois Class Action
Some companies now offer images from the past and information that others may be willing to pay for—for example, Classmates Media Corporation and its parent company, PeopleConnect, Inc., who own the website www.classmates.com. The complaint alleges that the companies are breaking the law by using the information and likenesses of others without permission for commercial Read more
Ancestry.com Use of People’s Images Without Permission California Class Action
In general, companies aren’t allowed to use people’s likenesses without permission to promote their own products or services. The complaint for this class action alleges that Ancestry.com companies (including Ancestry.com, Inc, Ancestry.com, LLC, and Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.) permit access to its “US School Yearbooks, 1900 to 1999” database and the images and information in it Read more
