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Question

Is it legal to have someone take a picture of your home (without your consent) and use it to advertise their businesses?

Submitted: 293 days and 22 hours ago.
Category: Intellectual Property Law
Value: $15
Status: AWAITING CUSTOMER ACTION
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Monroeville, New Jersey

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Nothing yet....We just found out that a company for home heaters has been advertising for their business with a picture of my home. We found the advertisment online,, as well as a flyer that was given to us by someone who recognized our home. We want to know if it's legal to do that without our knowledge or consent.

Posted by Alex Reese 293 days and 22 hours ago.

Answer

No they would need your permission to use your picture or that of your house to advertise their business, even though the photo is their copyright, this would fall under the federal/state advertising laws

293 days and 12 hours ago.

Reply

well what does the Federa/State advertising say, and would I have a case if I took it to an attorney? This is a big company and they've been using my house as their advertising for the year of 2008, I'm sure they've made money off of it, and we should get compensated for that. Would I win if I took this to court??

Answer

Your best bet would probably be to argue undert the common law "right of privacy," one aspect of which is known as the right of publicity, which is the commercial appropriation of someone's name or likeness. It happens when someone gains commercial benefit by using the name or likeness of another without consent. It usually occurs when a photograph of a person is used in an advertisement without the person's permission. You could argue that this extends to use of your home's image for commercial benefit. The strength of your case is questionable becuase, in general, you do not need a property release to use a photograph of a building (e.g. office building for Google)....but there is a argument to be made because it is a private residence, but again it is in public view and not truly "private" so success on this claim is questionable, but you should be able to get a free consultation with an attorney that can give you an opinion on the strength of your situation. good luck

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Expert: Alex Reese
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Answered: 2/3/2009

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5 years experience in intellectual property law

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