<P> Some states recognize the right through statute and some others through common law . California has both statutory and common - law strains of authority protecting slightly different forms of the right . The right of publicity is a property right , rather than a tort , and so the right may be transferable to the person 's heirs after their death . The Celebrities Rights Act was passed in California in 1985 and it extended the personality rights for a celebrity to 70 years after their death . Previously , the 1979 Lugosi v. Universal Pictures decision by the California Supreme Court held that Bela Lugosi 's personality rights could not pass to his heirs . </P>
<P> Some states recognize the right through statute and some others through common law . California has both statutory and common - law strains of authority protecting slightly different forms of the right . The right of publicity is a property right , rather than a tort , and so the right may be transferable to the person 's heirs after their death . The Celebrities Rights Act was passed in California in 1985 and it extended the personality rights for a celebrity to 70 years after their death . Previously , the 1979 Lugosi v. Universal Pictures decision by the California Supreme Court held that Bela Lugosi 's personality rights could not pass to his heirs . </P>
who owns the likeness and intellectual property of dead celebrities
who owns the likeness and intellectual property of dead celebrities
the person 's heirs
the person 's heirs