Close your eyes (not literally) and think of a genius scientist. What’s the first image that pops into your head? Fuzzy white hair, mustache, unkempt, possibly in a sweater? I have no doubts that the first person you thought of was brilliant physicist Albert Einstein. It’s who I thought of, too. In the decades after his death, he’s become something of a pop culture icon, thanks in no small part to the cadre of intellectuals and agents who run the full-time business of Einstein.
I never would’ve thought a dead person would need a full-time agent, especially not someone who died in 1955 and wasn’t renowned for his ability to tap-dance, sing, or act. As it turns out, last year over $18 million dollars in Einstein merchandise changed hands, and that’s just official Einstein merchandise! No telling what the Einstein bootleggers (of which there are plenty) brought in.
I had no idea that Actual Einstein was associated with Baby Einstein products, but apparently he is, and that’s where a ton of his money is coming from. Good for him, and better for Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Corbis Images, and the other associated people who make a serious living off of Einstein’s likeness. Bad for everyone who might even try to use Einstein’s likeness in an unapproved way, as HUJ and Team Einstein are very litigious of the name and likeness of the pop culture icon.
If you’re sitting on an Einstein goldmine idea and you can’t get approval from the proper authorities, just sit on it and wait until 2024, at which time Einstein’s publicity rights end and he becomes fair use for anything that hasn’t already been copywritten and produced by the official owners of Einstein. Just think, in 16 more years, your Uncle Albert adult undergarments can roll off the Pampers factory line and onto shelves around the world.
Tags: einstein, copywrite law, likeness rights, corbis images
