"Pics, Games, Tweets And Selfies: Right of Publicity Litigation Goes Digital," Download, Davis Wright Tremaine, New York, N.Y.

Celebrities use the right of publicity to control the commercial exploitation of their names, likenesses and other indicia of their personality. And content creators traditionally rely on the First Amendment and statutory exemptions to shield expressive works. However, as technology now allows content creators to incorporate athlete and celebrity identities into an expanding array of digital media, the line between commercial exploitation and expressive activity continues to blur. Our expert panel will examine the courts’ most recent attempts to reconcile traditional right of publicity and First Amendment jurisprudence in the digital arena, and offer best commercial practices, as they discuss:

• Ongoing battles between athletes and video game companies
• Use of celebrity photographs from digital libraries
• Lessons from Katherine Heigl and the White House on the risks of tweeting
• Kanye West’s dispute with "COINYE WEST" cryptocurrency

Panelists: Wendy Halley, Assistant General Counsel, Head of Media & Marketing Business and Legal Affairs, Yahoo! Inc.; Rebecca Sanhueza, Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel, IMG Worldwide, LLC; Lizanne Vaughan, Vice President, Corporate Counsel, Getty Images

Moderators: Liz McNamara, Partner, DWT; Karen Henry, Counsel, DWT