Abdul-Jabbar v. General Motors Corp.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (plaintiff) was a famous professional basketball player. Abdul-Jabbar’s former name, given to him at birth, was Lew Alcindor. Abdul-Jabbar went by the Alcindor name while playing basketball in college and into his early professional career, but in 1971, he converted his religion and thus legally changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Thereafter, Abdul-Jabbar did not use the Alcindor name for any commercial purposes. In 1993, General Motors Corporation (GMC) and its advertising agency Leo Burnett Company (Burnett) (defendants) aired a commercial for a GMC vehicle that used the Alcindor name. GMC and Burnett did not obtain Abdul-Jabbar’s consent or pay him for use of the Alcindor name. Abdul-Jabbar filed suit against GMC and Burnett in a federal district court, alleging, in part, that the commercial infringed on Abdul-Jabbar’s right of publicity. GMC and Burnett moved for summary judgment, arguing, in part, that because Abdul-Jabbar had not used the Alcindor name for commercial purposes for over ten years, Abdul-Jabbar had abandoned the Alcindor name. Therefore, GMC and Burnett argued that they had not used Abdul-Jabbar’s name and thus had not used his identity or infringed on his right of publicity. The trial court granted the motion for summary judgment, finding that Abdul-Jabbar had abandoned the Alcindor name along with any rights to protect that name. Abdul-Jabbar appealed.