I do a fair amount of celebrity portrait work in my business. I am interested in creating a line of merchandise that includes stuff like T-Shirts, posters, coffee mugs, etc. I am wondering if anybody on this forum has done this before? Do I need to get additional releases to do this or am I covered under my copyright?
Do I need to get additional releases to do this or am I covered under my copyright?
Your copyright has nothing to do with giving you rights to use someone's likeness.
Whatever releases you have are the key, but only of it specifically gives you the right to use their likeness for commercial purposes. It doesn't seem very likely that celebrities would sign such a release.
It would seem prudent to have a lawyer review your releases. It'll cost far less than the legal bills you could be paying later.
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