Senate Bill S8663

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8663
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 10, 2018
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BOYLE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Codes
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law,  in  relation  to  establishing  a
   cause  of action for injunction and damages for unlawful dissemination
   of an intimate image
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 51 of the civil rights law, as amended by chapter
 674 of the laws of 1995, is amended to read as follows:
   § 51. Action for injunction and for damages. 1. Any person whose name,
 portrait, picture or voice is used within  this  state  for  advertising
 purposes  or for the purposes of trade without the written consent first
 obtained as above provided may  maintain  an  equitable  action  in  the
 supreme  court  of this state against the person, firm or corporation so
 using his name, portrait, picture or voice, to prevent and restrain  the
 use  thereof;  and  may  also  sue  and recover damages for any injuries
 sustained by reason of such use and if the defendant shall have knowing-
 ly used such person's name, portrait, picture or voice in such manner as
 is forbidden or declared to be unlawful by section fifty of  this  arti-
 cle, the jury, in its discretion, may award exemplary damages. But noth-
 ing  contained  in  this article shall be so construed as to prevent any
 person, firm or corporation from selling or otherwise  transferring  any
 material  containing  such  name, portrait, picture or voice in whatever
 medium to any user of such name, portrait, picture or voice, or  to  any
 third  party for sale or transfer directly or indirectly to such a user,
 for use in a manner lawful under this article; nothing contained in this
 article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm  or  corpo-
 ration,  practicing the profession of photography, from exhibiting in or
 about his or its establishment specimens of the work of such  establish-
 ment,  unless  the same is continued by such person, firm or corporation
 after written notice objecting thereto has  been  given  by  the  person
 portrayed;  and  nothing contained in this article shall be so construed
 as to prevent any person, firm  or  corporation  from  using  the  name,
 portrait,  picture  or voice of any manufacturer or dealer in connection
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15897-01-8

 S. 8663                             2
 
 with the goods, wares and merchandise manufactured, produced or dealt in
 by him which he has sold  or  disposed  of  with  such  name,  portrait,
 picture  or  voice used in connection therewith; or from using the name,
 portrait,  picture  or  voice  of  any  author,  composer  or  artist in
 connection with his literary, musical or artistic productions  which  he
 has  sold or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture or voice used
 in connection therewith.   Nothing contained in this  section  shall  be
 construed  to  prohibit  the  copyright  owner of a sound recording from
 disposing of, dealing in, licensing or selling that sound  recording  to
 any  party,  if  the  right to dispose of, deal in, license or sell such
 sound recording has been conferred by contract or other written document
 by such living person or the holder of such right. Nothing contained  in
 the  foregoing  sentence  shall be deemed to abrogate or otherwise limit
 any rights or remedies otherwise conferred by federal law or state law.
   2. (A) ANY PERSON WHO IS A SUBJECT OF  UNLAWFUL  DISSEMINATION  OF  AN
 INTIMATE  IMAGE MAY MAINTAIN AN EQUITABLE ACTION IN THE SUPREME COURT OF
 THIS STATE AGAINST THE PERSON RESPONSIBLE FOR THE UNLAWFUL DISSEMINATION
 TO PREVENT AND RESTRAIN SUCH DISSEMINATION AND MAY ALSO SUE AND  RECOVER
 DAMAGES  FOR  ANY INJURIES SUSTAINED BY REASON OF SUCH DISSEMINATION AND
 THE JURY, IN ITS DISCRETION, MAY AWARD EXEMPLARY DAMAGES. IN ANY  ACTION
 BROUGHT  UNDER  THIS  SUBDIVISION, THE COURT MAY AWARD REASONABLE ATTOR-
 NEY'S FEES TO A PREVAILING PLAINTIFF.
   (B) A PERSON IS A SUBJECT OF UNLAWFUL  DISSEMINATION  OF  AN  INTIMATE
 IMAGE  WHEN  ANOTHER  PERSON,  FOR  SUCH  OTHER PERSON'S OWN, OR ANOTHER
 PERSON'S AMUSEMENT, ENTERTAINMENT, OR  FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  HARASSING,
 ANNOYING, ALARMING, DEGRADING OR ABUSING A PERSON, INTENTIONALLY DISSEM-
 INATES  OR  THREATENS  TO  DISSEMINATE AN IMAGE OR IMAGES THROUGH PHOTO-
 GRAPH, FILM, VIDEOTAPE, RECORDING, OR  ANY  OTHER  REPRODUCTION  OF  THE
 SEXUAL  OR  OTHER  INTIMATE  PARTS  OF  ANOTHER  PERSON WITHOUT EXPLICIT
 CONSENT OF SUCH PERSON TO DISSEMINATE SUCH IMAGES.
   (C) IN ANY ACTION BROUGHT UNDER THIS SUBDIVISION,  THE  PLAINTIFF  MAY
 PROCEED UNDER PSEUDONYM AND ALL IDENTIFYING INFORMATION ABOUT THE PLAIN-
 TIFF  MAY  BE REDACTED FROM PLEADINGS AND COURT FILINGS. THE COURT SHALL
 INFORM THE PLAINTIFF OF THE OPTION TO PROCEED  UNDER  PSEUDONYM  AT  THE
 EARLIEST  POINT AND SHALL MAINTAIN RECORDS IN A MANNER THAT PROTECTS THE
 PLAINTIFF'S CONFIDENTIALITY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
 it shall have become a law.