Lugosi v. Universal Pictures

Lugosi v. Universal Pictures
Seal of the Supreme Court of California
Supreme Court of California
Decided December 3, 1979
Full case nameBela George Lugosi, et al., Plaintiffs and Appellants v. Universal Pictures, Defendants and Appellants.
Citation(s)603 P.2d 425
Case history
Subsequent historynone
Holding
Personality rights are personal to the holder and must be exercised within the holder's lifetime; they do not descend to the holder's heirs.
Court membership
Chief JusticeRose Elizabeth Bird
Associate JusticesMatthew Tobriner, Stanley Mosk, William P. Clark, Jr., Wiley Manuel, Frank K. Richardson, Frank C. Newman
Case opinions
Per curiam.
ConcurrenceMosk
DissentBird, joined by Manuel, Tobriner
Superseded by
California Celebrities Rights Act

Lugosi v. Universal Pictures, 603 P.2d 425 (Cal. 1979),[1] was a decision of the Supreme Court of California with regard to the personality rights of celebrities, particularly addressing whether these rights descended to the celebrities' heirs. The suit was brought by the heirs of Béla Lugosi, his son Bela Jr. and his fifth wife Hope Lugosi,[2] who jointly sued Universal Pictures in 1966 for using his personality rights without the heirs' permission on toys, posters, model kits and the like. The trial court initially ruled in favor of the Lugosi heirs, but Universal Studios won the case in an appeal. The court determined that a dead person had no right to their likeness, and any rights that existed did not pass to their heirs.[3]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CEB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Arthur Lennig, The Immortal Count, University Press of Kentucky, 2003 ISBN 978-0-8131-2273-1.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference findlaw was invoked but never defined (see the help page).