Need RIght To Use Rush Limbaugh Photo

March 4, 2009 11:42 AM

How/where do I obtain the right to LEGALLY use a photo of Rush Limbaugh? I don't have a particular photo in mind, but can not find an organization/individual to grant the right to use any photo. After the recent flap over the Obama photo...
posted by toucano to media & arts (16 comments total)

What are you using it for?
posted by downing street memo at 11:52 AM on March 4

Commercail use. I don't think the Fair Use Doctrine would apply. Not a battle I would want to fight. I'm sure there are images available for a fee for unrestricted use. I just can't find any on the internet.
posted by toucano at 11:55 AM on March 4

Flickr Creative Commons search of Rush Limbaugh.

WARNING: some of those images were clearly not taken by the poster and they therefore cannot give you permission to use them. Also, some of the images have additional restrictions beyond attribution, so don't try to, say, alter an image that is NoDerivs, or use an image for commercial purposes that has a license that prohibits that.
posted by grouse at 11:58 AM on March 4

Look on Flickr and see if any users have posted their own photos of Rush Limbaugh that they have released to the public domain, or an attribution-only license. Here's the search result of Flickr photos with "Limbaugh" in the title or text that have Creative Commons licenses.

(Be careful, though: some of the results seem to be other people's photos that the user has posted to Flickr and bestowed a dubious CC license on.)
posted by jayder at 12:02 PM on March 4

IMO using something from Flickr is just asking for an infringement battle whether it's CC licensed or not.

Go to a stock agency like Getty or Corbis and license one from them.
posted by bradbane at 12:15 PM on March 4

Seconding going to a stock agency.
posted by dave*p at 12:31 PM on March 4

Thirding that your best bet in not getting fucked is going to a stock agency like Getty Images, who indeed have photos of Limbaugh. NOTE: Editorial use is different from commercial use and Limbaugh isn't signing model releases, obviously. So you can't throw him on a billboard saying "I use and love TATERS-brand dildos," but you could probably put him on a billboard saying "I am a huge douchebag."

I am not an IP lawyer, or any type of lawyer. I have used stock photography for both editorial and commercial uses in the past and not gotten sued.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 12:48 PM on March 4 [3 favorites]

Just because you have the rights to use the picture itself (ie the copyright owner's permission) doesn't necessarily mean you have the rights to use Limbaugh's image. Especially since it's a commercial use, you may run up against right of privacy/right of publicity claims, which is what Optimus Chyme is referring to with the editorial/commercial distinction. This gets into "consult a lawyer" time because it varies jurisdiction to jurisdiction and is very fact specific.
posted by katemonster at 1:48 PM on March 4

You absolutely cannot use his likeness for any commercial use whatsoever unless you are buying a stock image from a photographer that has a signed model release from Rush Limbaugh. Fair use/creative commons does not apply. I don't think you are going to have much luck in your search but check the big agencies they may have something.
posted by WickedPissah at 2:51 PM on March 4

I say commercial in the sense that it is *for a profit* parody product... not that it is an endorsement by Rush. And a search of Getty shows only photographs for editorial use. Looks like I may need to show up at a Rush appearance and get my own.
posted by toucano at 3:12 PM on March 4

I say commercial in the sense that it is *for a profit* parody product... not that it is an endorsement by Rush. And a search of Getty shows only photographs for editorial use. Looks like I may need to show up at a Rush appearance and get my own.

This is a commercial use. You need a model release to do this. You will not get a model release because there's no way you'll get Limbaugh to sign one. You will be opening yourself to a lawsuit.
posted by msbrauer at 3:45 PM on March 4

Toucano, even in those circumstances, it may not be okay depending on the usage. Parody is still well-protected, but Limbaugh has enough money to destroy you even if you are legally in the right, and even though Limbaugh is a public figure. If this will be widely seen, I would enlist an attorney's help. If you are selling t-shirts at swap meets I wouldn't worry that much.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 3:48 PM on March 4

I would LOVE the free advertising that would bring. Fact is... IANoLongerAPL. Gave that up for Lent.
posted by toucano at 4:02 PM on March 4

Just because you go and take a photo of him yourself it does not mean you can use it for commercial use at all. Just like I can't stop you on the street and take a photo of you and then turn around and use your face on the packaging for a laxative. It is illegal. You are opening yourself up for a lawsuit in this case, but if you feel like you can afford a lawsuit then do what you have to do.

Now if you go up to him after taking the photo and then ask him to sign a model release for you and he does then you can go ahead with your product using his likeness. But good luck getting that release.


http://www.citmedialaw.org/legal-guide/using-name-or-likeness-another
posted by WickedPissah at 9:10 AM on March 5

Call Getty and tell them what you are doing and ask if you need a release. They will be more than happy to help you deal with any possible legal implications of buying their images. That is why I recommended going to one of the big agencies in the first place. You may be in 100% in the clear or you may not, most likely they will be able to help or point you in the right direction.
posted by bradbane at 2:38 PM on March 5

For public domain or CC photos, I usually have a look at Wikipedia and WikiCommons:

Public domain photo of Rush Limbaugh

I'm not seeing anything in WikiCommons, but maybe I'm just missing it.
posted by kristi at 5:37 PM on March 5