New "Licensed" Britney Spears Content - Ethics & Legality.
 

First of all, I have no association with the content provider and this is not spam. That's out of the way.

I was browsing another adult webmaster board yesterday and I saw a spam for some guy who is selling exclusive "licensed" Britney Spears pictures and a five minute video. I know that we've talked about celeb content before, but generally people say "If you didn't take it, then you can't use it." Well, in this case, he did take the footage, and at a public beach too. So, I'm wondering what the content gurus (Unseen, Charly, etc.) have to say about this one. Here's what I think:

1. This is legal to sell and to use. Paparazzi photographers sell this kind of stuff all the time to magazines that charge to see it. Most of them are not really "news" magazines, but those trashy rumor magazines and tabloids. There is no difference between them and an adult site publishing these pics.

2. I think it's pretty tacky that this guy chased her around, but she was in public. In the sample video clip Britney calls him a motherfucker and insults him for taping her. I wouldn't do what he did myself, but Britney is making plenty of money off the fame, so she doesn't have that much to complain about.

3. Britney is still fucking hot.

Now, what do the GFY amateur lawyer's think? Legal? Illegal? Would you put it on your site? Would you pay for it? Can you advertise the content on the outside of a paysite with her name and not get busted? It would be like putting her on the cover of a magazine that was shrink wrapped. It seems legal, but I don't know?

Here is the page with the sample pics and a video clip of the content he's selling:
http://www.hotamateurmpegs.com/britneypage.html

Although I love the idea of Britney calling me a Mother Fucker, i cant say that posting it and using her name, and images is the right thing to do, however im not exactly sure how much trouble one could get into.

Xtc

It's better to license it than steal it.

I'm sure it probably sucks, but a lot of adult stuff sucks. If you could use it on the outside of a paysite, then it might pull like Pam & Tommy back in the day. "5 Minute Britney Spears Video Inside - Members Only" - something like that. Most people would never ever do that with unlicensed content, but if this is licensed, and being sold by the guy who took it, is it legal? I think it is, but I don't want to get sued.

I doubt it is legal
has Britney Spears agreed to be on those pics and vids?
I think not

is there a model release contract?
i think not


therefore you can't promote in the tour!

She didn't agree to be in these pics either, but The Sun and other tabloids run things like this all the time:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002142168,00.html

Remember the nude Anna Kournikova pics from last year?

IMPORTANT WEBMASTER NOTIFICATION: As you might know, a few images of this exclusive Britney shoot were published in various magazines and newspapers. Some of these publications had websites which we granted website usage. ANY WEBSITE that is currently using ANY of these exclusive images of Britney on the Beach in Miami, will be in direct violation of our copyright. We are working closely with Ibill, CCbill, Paypal, etc., in routing out any unauthorized use. If brought to their attention about potential infractions, their policy is to deny all service and payment to any website who is using unauthorized copyrighted material. If you have this material currently on your site, one of three things can happen. You can waste your time and take it down, you can have your credit card processor shut you down, or you can buy our CD. Our apologizes for the strictness of our conviction, but unauthorized usage of copyrighted material runs rampant on the net, and we will not tolerate it. As a webmaster who produces or buys material for their own site, you should completely understand our convictions on this matter.


lol

If you buy the pics and use them you only have to worry about her sueing you in a civil court (and she would have to prove damages)

and say if you didn't pay for the pics and used them, she could still sue you in a civil court AND the owner of the pics could also sue you in a civil court as well as criminal charges.

There is NOTHING illegal about taking pictures and selling them wich were taken in a public area.

probably if there wasn't so many fake celebrity pics out there, the celebrities wouldn't worry at all

i think we need boneprone's opinion here since he fucked britney lately

:)

if tabloids can use them, website can use them as well. if i buy shit from the paparazzi britney spears couldn't sue me for anything.

yes she could
just like she could sue the tabloids
and she would have to prove damages

like if you defamed her in a derogitory way and you fucked up her ability to make money and her lawyers proved that to a jury, yada yada yada

I dont reckon Bone Prone will comment....he was the cameraman and she was calling him a Mother Fucker as he refused to do a live sex show with her on his site...he apparently suggested she have a decent bit of surgery on her tits and arse......

So now you know why she split up with Justin..she was 'prone' for the 'bone'

this guy must of tried to sell it to the the tv stations and failed

I have no idea why this guy would sell this for $299 to a few people, maybe 10-15 max before its all over, rather than make a deal with babylonx for a quick $2k, if he was smart he might of got $5k.

She could, but probably won't. This happens to celebrities way too often, they can't chase everyone down. Besides, she's a celebrity, they have less privacy rights. If she doesn't like it, then she never should have got the implants!

Sly, but her name is a copyright.........she most likely would send a c&d first!

If it's copyrighted then advertise them as pics of the pop sex godess whose name sounds like whitney tears

I'm not an attorney. That out of the way (and I've done quite a bit of copyright and release research) is that celebrities actually have a "right of publicity" that ordinary citizens don't. When someone makes a living with their persona and likeness, as a pop singer does, the law recognizes a right for her to control how images about her are used. How, then, do publications like The Star and The National Enquirer get to use images of celebrities in compromising situations, etc.? It may have something to do with having more money spend on attorneys. Go to a search engine and look at the case involving Dustin Hoffman and the magazine which faked him in drag and put him on the cover...he won.

well if u did something stupid then she could sue. but just posting pics u bought, she would lose if she did sue.

a lawsuit ready to happen

This is civil law, not criminal law. It could come down to who runs out of money to pay lawyers first. Me...I'd stay pretty far away from it.

how the hell can u copyright a name? there could be more britney spears in the world.

i could see a copyright on a name that the person chooses, but not on a birth name.

I am by no means a pro in this biz ... but this point really makes me really wonder if it is in fact 100% bona fide Britney ... or is is somebody the photographer could pass off as her ?????

yah probably, don't get me wrong, i'm on your side, i'm just stating facts. Chances are slim, but it's still a chance. If I took some pics of her in public I don't know what I would do to be honest, but I would definately take the pics and worry about what to do with them later! Like Unseen said, It's a deep pocket money thing. She could hurt you financially. Actually I didnt see anything special about those caps. There are public pics of her taken every time she goes out and is seen. Now if they were topless he would be sitting on a small fortune.

You can't sue someone for photos taken of them in public - period. If you shoot onto private property well then there's a problem.

I feel sorry for her

Dude you can sue anyone for just about anything these days. Whether or not you get any money is a different story.
Remember it's not illegal (criminal) but you can be sued (civil)
end of story.

Maybe you can in your fucked up country... but not mine.

Do you think I could get sued for farting in public?