What kind of permissions/payments does Snickers have to obtain for those commercials?

[YogSothoth]

This question is, more broadly, about using dead actors in commercials.

This one’s a perfect example. Its the recent Super Bowl one with the Brady Bunch.

Danny Trejo plays Marcia and Steve Buscemi plays Jan. Maureen McCormick(Marcia), Florence Henderson(the mom), and Robert Reed(the dad) all have speaking roles, but only Marcia and mom’s were altered. The dad speaks, but it doesn’t look like they altered his lines. Mom and Marcia also have been edited to do something else; in mom’s case her mouth is edited to reflect the new lines, and Marcia’s edited to be holding a Snickers bar.

I assume Snickers needs to pay and get permission from whatever studio that owns the Brady Bunch. And I’m sure the living actors in the commercial will get paid (mom and Marcia, and Danny and Steve). But does Snickers pay anything to Jan’s actress, who was completely edited out? What about the dad? He’s dead so do they have to pay his surviving kin anything?

As far as permissions go, do they have to ask Florence Henderson and Maureen McCormick if they would allow being edited, or can they simply do that if they get permission from the studio that owns the Brady Bunch franchise? And what if Jan’s actress doesn’t want to be edited out, can she block it? For the purposes of the payments and permissions, does Jan even figure into it if she’s edited out?

This issue was played for laughs on a Simpsons episode, where Homer goes around killing celebrities so corporations can use them for free in their advertisements. Not that the Simpsons is an accurate source of copyright issues, but the episode made it sound like as soon as a guy’s dead, you can use his image for anything you want and don’t have to pay anyone.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

Not true.

California Celebrities Rights Act

California Civil Code section 3344[3] is for the publicity rights of living persons, while Civil Code section 3344.1,[4] known as the Astaire Celebrity Image Protection Act, grants statutory post mortem rights to the estate of a “deceased personality”, where:

    that personality had been "any natural person whose name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness has commercial value at the time of his or her death",[5]

    any person using such personality's "name, voice, signature, photograph or likeness on or in products, merchandise or goods" without prior consent was liable to be sued for damages and profits arising from the unauthorized use,[6] and

    such prior consent may only be given by persons to whom the personality had transferred such power by contract or trust prior to his death, or by trust or will after his death, or, where no such latter provision was made, his spouse, children, and/or grandchildren,[7] but

    "a play, book, magazine, newspaper, musical composition, audiovisual work, radio or television program, single and original work of art, work of political or newsworthy value, or an advertisement or commercial announcement for any of these works, shall not be considered a product, article of merchandise, good, or service if it is fictional or nonfictional entertainment, or a dramatic, literary, or musical work."[8]

In 1999, the period of protection was extended from fifty years after a person’s death to seventy years.[9] Similar laws have been enacted by 12 other states in the United States.[10]

Living or dead, the agent/estate/representative of the celebrity has to be paid off.

[YogSothoth]

Is an “estate” something you automatically have, or do you have to legally establish it? For example, someone like me, a regular non-celeb, if someone uses my likeness after I’m dead, do they have to pay my surviving family? Or only if I’ve established some sort of agent/estate/representative?

[Little_Nemo]

@YogSosoth

Is an “estate” something you automatically have, or do you have to legally establish it? For example, someone like me, a regular non-celeb, if someone uses my likeness after I’m dead, do they have to pay my surviving family? Or only if I’ve established some sort of agent/estate/representative?

I believe the law says your estate has to show that you were able to sell your appearance during your lifetime. That’s pretty easy if you’re a model or actor. And it can be done if you’re a singer or some other kind of well-known public figure.

So if you painted a portrait of Leonard Nimoy and started selling prints of it, you’d be in trouble. Nimoy was an actor and his estate could readily demonstrate he got paid for appearing in things. But if you painted a portrait of your next door neighbour, Leonard Smith (who was not a celebrity and who also died earlier this year), and the painting became an online sensation and you began selling prints of it, Leonard Smith’s estate probably wouldn’t be able to collect any money from you.

[Exapno_Mapcase]

@YogSosoth

Is an “estate” something you automatically have, or do you have to legally establish it? For example, someone like me, a regular non-celeb, if someone uses my likeness after I’m dead, do they have to pay my surviving family? Or only if I’ve established some sort of agent/estate/representative?

Note that the law makes a condition of “has commercial value at the time of his or her death.” That seems to rule out non-celebs.

But you and everybody else has an estate after you die. Estate is merely your money and goods. This law adds personality to the pool of value.