March 6, 2008

On March 5, 2008, Fitch Even partner Joseph Nabor testified before the Illinois House Judiciary Committee on a proposed change to the Illinois Right of Publicity law that would give "stock photo" web sites protection from claims of damages from individuals that appear in the stock photos. Joe testified on behalf of the Illinois State Bar Association, which opposes the exception to the "right to publicity" included in the proposed legislation.

The modification to the current law was proposed in response to a decision in James Brown vs. Corbis involving the famous late singer's right of publicity and the commercial use of his image by Corbis, a company started by Bill Gates that licenses copyright protected stock photographs and images. If enacted, Illinois would be the first state to create such an exception to the right of publicity law.

Joe Nabor heads Fitch Even's Trademark Practice Group and has been a very active member of the Illinois State Bar Association for over twenty years. Joe has served on the Section Council of the Intellectual Property Section for the ISBA.