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Keywords

contractlawsuitplaintiffsummary judgmentcopyrightcivil rights
plaintiff

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Shamsky v. Garan, Inc., 167 Misc.2d 149, 632 N.Y.S.2d 930

Facts

Members of the 1969 World Series Champion New York Mets baseball team brought a lawsuit against Garan, Inc., a clothing manufacturer, for selling shirts featuring a group photograph of the team without the players' consent. The players argued that this unauthorized use violated their statutory right to publicity under New York law. The team members had previously signed Uniform Players Contracts allowing the club to use their images for publicity, but they contended that this did not extend to the commercial exploitation of their identities through merchandise. The case raised significant questions about the scope of the players' rights and the applicability of federal copyright law.

Issue

Rule

Analysis

The court found that the sale of the shirts featuring the team photograph constituted a commercial use of the players' identities without their consent, thus violating their rights under the Civil Rights Law. The players retained individual rights to their likenesses despite the Uniform Players Contracts, which only allowed the club to use their images for publicity purposes. The court emphasized that the players' identities had independent value and that the collective use of their images did not negate their individual rights to publicity.

This Court agrees wholeheartedly that the team is commemorated, and that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. But the players' pictures are used, and the parts have an independent existence.

Conclusion

The court held that Garan, Inc. violated the players' statutory right of publicity by selling the shirts without their consent, and granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs.

Who won?

The plaintiffs, members of the 1969 World Series Champion New York Mets, prevailed in their lawsuit against Garan, Inc. The court ruled that the unauthorized sale of clothing featuring their likenesses constituted a violation of their rights to publicity under New York law. The court emphasized that the players had not relinquished their individual rights to commercial exploitation of their identities, despite the Uniform Players Contracts. This ruling reinforced the legal protection afforded to individuals against unauthorized commercial use of their likenesses.

The plaintiffs are entitled to exploit commercially the fame that such skill, luck, or both, has won for him.

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