Out-Law / Your Daily Need-To-Know
Celebrities are getting younger. Suri Cruise, five-month-old daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, was yesterday's Vanity Fair cover star in the US and already has a global reputation. An academic today questions her image rights.
Edinburgh University lecturer Gillian Black is not doubting the money-making potential of Suri – or other children born to famous parents, such as Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, Nicole Ritchie, Peaches Geldof and Kelly Osbourne. Her point is that the law that protects image rights is muddled.
Racing driver Eddie Irvine had his day in court when Talksport used a photo of him without his consent, and Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones continue to do battle with Hello! over unauthorised wedding photos long after the last crumb of wedding cake has been eaten. But still the law remains unsettled.
Black launched an online survey today that seeks your views: what rights do you think celebrities have? And what rights do you think are appropriate?
"There seems to be a divergence between the law, which has tended to play down the significance of celebrity endorsement, and the commercial practice, which thrives on celebrity deals and publicity," said Black.
Black hopes the findings of the survey will identify whether legal reform is needed.
Complete the survey (should take approximately 10 minutes)
Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, and Suri Cruise were photographed exclusively for Vanity Fair by Annie Leibovitz. The October issue of Vanity Fair hit newsstands in New Yorkand Los Angeleson 6th September, and nationally in the US by 12th September.
