Haelan Laboratories, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
202 F.2d 866, 346 U.S. 816 (1953)
- Written by Sean Carroll, JD
Facts
Haelan Laboratories, Inc, (plaintiff) and Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. were rival chewing gum manufacturers. Haelan signed a contract with a baseball player that gave it the exclusive right to use the player’s photograph in connection with its gum. The player agreed to not grant the right to use his picture to any other gum manufacturer. Topps knew of Haelan’s contract, but convinced the player to sign a contract permitting Topps to use the player’s picture in connection with its gum. Haelan sued Topps. Topps argued that as the player’s right to privacy was personal, not assignable, the player’s contract was merely a release of liability for using his picture. As a result, Topps claimed that it did not violate any property interest of Haelan in the player’s right to privacy. The trial court dismissed Haelan’s complaint. Haelan appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Frank, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 812,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.
