Commercial appropriation (also known as misappropriation) involves an unauthorized use of an individual’s organizations prominence in order to benefit someone else.
The courts have recognized that well- known people acquire an identity that is of value and these people deserve to be protected deserve to be protected from someone “ cashing in” on that value without their consent.
Lets say you are doing a commericial for a restaurant or a health spa and you just happen to catch some well- known person in attendance. Obviously, the commercial would be much more influential if this person appeared to frequent this establishment. However, if you run the commercial without their permission, they could sue you. Celebrities often have sued and won damage in such cases.
If you were televising a public event and wanted to show general shots of the audience in attendance, there would be no problem, even if one of the members of the audience was well known. Individuals in this case are considered “background”
But, if one of the people in the audience was a well- known person and you appeared to go out of your way to bring this fact to the attention of the audience, you could be guilty of trying to “cash in on” in the persons prominence.
If the public figure is officially participating in a event being covered, he or she can be considered a part of the event. In such cases the camera shots may dwell on the person as much as they wish.
Participants