Hilton v. Hallmark Cards

580 F.3d 874 (2009)

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Hilton v. Hallmark Cards

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
580 F.3d 874 (2009)

  • Written by Tom Syverson, JD

Facts

Paris Hilton (plaintiff) was a reality-television celebrity famous for her lavish lifestyle. Hilton starred in a show called “The Simple Life,” in which Hilton took part in forms of drudgery familiar to everyday Americans. One episode featured Hilton working at a fast-food restaurant. Throughout the show, Hilton frequently expressed approval by using the catchphrase “that’s hot.” Hilton registered “that’s hot” as a trademark. Hallmark Cards (defendant) sold greeting cards. One of Hallmark’s cards pictured Hilton’s face superimposed on a cartoon waitress’s body, along with a joke incorporating Hilton’s “that’s hot” catchphrase. Hilton sued Hallmark, asserting a right-of-publicity claim and two federal trademark claims. The district court dismissed Hilton’s trademark-infringement claim but denied Hallmark’s motion to dismiss the right-of-publicity claim. Hallmark appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (O’Scannlain, J.)

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Casebooks

Trademark

Key Terms

  • Right of PublicityAn individual’s right, although not absolute, to exclusively make economic use of his or her identity.
  • Transformativeness testTest for determining whether an artist’s work is protected by the First Amendment against a right of publicity challenge, which focuses on whether a celebrity’s likeness contained in an artist’s work has been so transformed as to become primarily the artist’s own expression.
  • Public Interest DefenseAn affirmative defense to a right of publicity claim, which protects reporting newsworthy information on matters of public interest.

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