Landham v. Lewis Galoob Toys

227 F.3d 619 (2000)

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Landham v. Lewis Galoob Toys

United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
227 F.3d 619 (2000)

Facts

William M. Sonny Landham (plaintiff) was an actor who played supporting roles in several popular movies, including 48 Hours and Action Jackson, as well as several unrated, pornographic films. In 1987, Landham played the role of Billy Sole in the Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (Fox) movie Predator. Fox licensed to Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. (Galoob) (defendant) the right to produce and market a line of toys based on Predator, including a Billy action figure. The inch-and-a-half tall toy had no eyes or mouth and thus bore no physical resemblance to Landham. Nevertheless, Landham filed suit against Galoob and Fox, arguing that the Billy toy violated his state-law right of publicity and amounted to a false endorsement under the Lanham Act. The district court entered summary judgment in favor of Galoob and Fox, and Landham appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Batchelder, J.)

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