Just curious how folks like Allposters.com can sell celebrity photos to consumers?

Since the photos are news photos and not posters, are they getting around the model release/right of publicity factors or are they just one entertainment lawyer's class action filing away from putting up the CLOSED sign?

These appear to be licensed for resale. Many images are. I do know Corbis won a suit against a company that was illegally selling images scanned form publications. I am sure it does happen, it is hard to control.

Sorry, I didn't mean that Allposters didn't have a deal with whatever agency is providing them with the photos, I was just asking where it fell in line with the celebrities themselves.

It's not "merchandise" per se; they haven't slapped the photo on a mug, plate, poster, or t-shirt. Since they (Allposters or any of these sellers AND the agency) are selling a "news photo" as an 8x10 does that get them around the "right of publicity"?

Would they have to have contracts and a model release with each person they're selling photos of or, again, do they move into a very grey area and say they don't need releases since they're selling "editorial images"?

I thought I'd read somewhere before that newspapers/magazines selling photo reprints to consumers was a bit of a grey area. If it's become more black & white, I have 7,000+ published red carpet photos I could start putting "Buy an 8x10" links on. :-)

I'm pretty sure that a poster would count as art...in which you need a release if the person can recognize themselves.

As I stated, we're NOT talking about posters here. Allposters.com also sells photo reprints in a variety of sizes, like 8x10.

Obviously Allposters sells posters too, but those are your standard Farrah Fawcett "I posed and get a cut of this" posters.

I'm talking about the huge selection of photos they sell from events like the Oscars and other red carpet news shots.