A North Carolina woman has filed a federal lawsuit against Anheuser-Busch after her picture was allegedly used without her permission in ads and promotional items for Natural Light beer. She claims that the use was a copyright infringement, invasion of privacy, and violation of her right of publicity. The photo was apparently posted on social media as part of an Anheuser-Busch promotion.
Kraft claims that she was at a bar four years ago when she sported a fake mustache and sipped from a bottle of Natural Light. A friend reportedly took a photo of Kraft drinking the light beer and Kraft later posted the image on her Facebook page. Her friend later assigned her copyright in the photo to Ms. Kraft who registered the photo with the U.S. Copyright Office, and Kraft subsequently sued Anheuser-Busch.
The photo was submitted to Natural Light’s Facebook page as part of Natty Rewards, a promotion where 21+ Facebook users could earn rewards for submitting photos of entrants “acting natural”. The official rules required that as a condition of entry into the promotion submitters give a broad publicity and intellectual property release to Anheuser-Busch. At this time it is unclear whether Kraft submitted the entry but regardless without a signature from the owner of the content, this case illustrates that relying on a boilerplate release alone has a number of issues, including the whether the individual submitting the picture actually controls the rights granted upon entry.
It is yet unclear how this case will play out. The parties may confidentially settle out of court. Nevertheless, this case illustrates that advertisers may not be able to rely solely on the grant of rights in official rules for exploitation of intellectual property submitted by the public and instead should obtain a specific and separate grant of rights and release signed by the owner of the content to avoid a lawsuit.
I will continue to keep you updated on relevant developments.
