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A comment on Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid in his music videos. Parent comment

Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by kube-system on Thursday March 23, 2023 @11:53PM (#35284899)
The article doesn’t read as if they are claiming they were filmed illegally.

It looks mostly like a claim about using their likeness commercially —- their personality rights. i.e. the rights someone would sign over in a modeling contract.

…Like how you can’t put Tom Hanks face on a box of cigarettes and sell it without permission. He may sue and claim that you’ve tarnished his image.

But yeah, it’s a stretch here too given the circumstances, but these laws vary by state so I have no clue how this state handles it.

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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by ericcumbee on Friday March 24, 2023 @12:34AM (#35285123)
I don't know what the exact test is, but if there is legitimate fundamental constitutionally protected free speech (Criticizing the government) the fact that its also commercial speech is irrelevant in my mind.
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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by zoklet-enjoyer on Friday March 24, 2023 @12:31AM (#35285105)
That's ridiculous. If someone breaks into a house, the homeowner has the right to do whatever they want with the video, including monetizing it. Especially since they stole from him and damaged his property.
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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by kube-system on Friday March 24, 2023 @12:57AM (#35285244)
I agree with what you’re saying but not the reason. The actions of the police don’t grant Afroman any additional rights. He had the right (at least to the music video) regardless of whether the police were right or wrong.

I believe the reason he has a right to publish this work is because he is not profiting from their likeness. He is profiting from his work of criticism. (Edit: a sibling comment points out that Ohio exempts audiovisual and political works)

Also, as a public servant in official duty, in a place where they found themselves likely to be recorded, they had no reasonable expectation of privacy.

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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by Broken_Hippo on Friday March 24, 2023 @03:33AM (#35286140)
If someone breaks into a house, the homeowner has the right to do whatever they want with the video, including monetizing it

I disagree, mostly because it isn't hard to get fringe cases. Drunk folks, folks with memory issues, and so on. Even if they break in, I don't think this is the sort of thing they should face public ridicule for.

I think the homeowner has the right because the folks breaking in are cops. If a cop cannot handle these facets of their job being public, they should act better. A cop in uniform is a public figure, even if they are in a private residence. An ununiformed cop is a public figure if they are doing cop stuff, especially if they are in your house.

They should be acting like someone is always watching. They should be able to handle being told bad words from people. They should be expected to always act professional. That is part of the standard we set for call center employees, after all, and we should expect folks that can ruin other people's lives to live up to better standards.

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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by runlevel1 on Friday March 24, 2023 @12:49AM (#35285204)
Advertising, sure. But other uses appear specifically allowed (emphasis mine):

> Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 2741.09 (A)(1): Right Of Publicity In Individual's Persona: Exceptions.

> (A) This chapter does not apply to any of the following:

> (1)(a) A literary work, dramatic work, fictional work, historical work, audiovisual work, or musical work regardless of the media in which the work appears or is transmitted, other than an advertisement or commercial announcement not exempt under division (A)(1)(d) of this section;

> (b) Material that has political or newsworthy value;

> ...

Source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-2741.09

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Re:Police sue rapper Afroman for using footage of home raid ... by kube-system on Friday March 24, 2023 @01:03AM (#35285273)
Yeah I was just using the archetypal advertising example as a demonstration of the angle they’re taking. I figured it was not legally sound.

Although, that might not cover the T-shirts…

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