Is it illegal to take a picture of a celebrity holding my business name and post it on my website?
Let’s say I own “Hard Candy Shop”
can I make a little sign that says Hardcandyshop.com
and ask a celeb to hold it as I take a picture of them
then post it on my website?
what about if i just cropped my name in someone else’s picture? like if i replaced justjared.com with hardcandyshop.com
are both methods illegal?
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With a star you will want to maybe create a legal document giving you rights to the picture, and mentioning royalty free in that document. If you have a video camera make sure to have video of them granting permission as well, this will help prove your permission.
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It all depends on the celebrity, some have hard copyright policy on what you can do with their pictures.
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If the celeb agrees to have his or her photo taken for use on your site, you simply need to get a “release form” waiving any claim - you might pay them a small gratuity. But stars are stars; you want that document to be legit.
Make sure you never use a celebrity’s image unasked - you can wind up in a horrendous lawsuit. A graphic designer and I were working on an ad campaign. We had a great idea using pix of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis. But first, we consulted a well-known legal firm in New York, who told us that we could not use the images in a local campaign — national only — and that the fee for the photos would be close to half a mill. So, do be careful!