Assembly Bill A10110

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10110
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             February 2, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. WOERNER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the civil rights law, in relation to personal  right  of
   publicity
 
   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 section 2
 of subpart A of part MM of chapter 58 of the laws of 2024, is amended to
 read as follows:
   § 51.  PERSONAL RIGHT OF PUBLICITY. 1. Action for injunction  and  for
 damages.  Any person whose name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice is
 used within this state for advertising purposes or for the  purposes  of
 trade OR THAT IS POSTED ON A WEBSITE GENERATING ADVERTISEMENT REVENUE OR
 OTHER  ROYALTIES  OR  PROFIT  FOR  THE PERSON POSTING OR SUBMITTING SUCH
 CONTENT 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 such person's name, portrait,
 picture, likeness 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 knowingly  used  such  person's
 name,  portrait, picture, likeness or voice in such manner as is forbid-
 den or declared to be unlawful by section fifty  of  this  article,  the
 jury,  in  its  discretion,  may  award  exemplary  damages. But nothing
 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, likeness or  voice  in
 whatever medium to any user of such name, portrait, picture, likeness 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 corporation, practicing the profession of photography,
 from exhibiting in or about their establishment specimens of the work of
 such establishment, unless the same is continued by such person, firm or
 corporation after written notice objecting thereto has been given by the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD14664-01-6
 A. 10110                            2
 
 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, likeness or voice of any manufacturer or dealer
 in  connection  with  the  goods,  wares  and  merchandise manufactured,
 produced or dealt in by such manufacturer or dealer which they have sold
 or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice used
 in connection therewith; or from  using  the  name,  portrait,  picture,
 likeness  or  voice of any author, composer or artist in connection with
 their literary, musical or artistic productions which they have sold  or
 disposed of with such name, portrait, picture, likeness 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.  REMOVAL  OF  UNCONSENTED  MATERIAL  FROM  WEBSITES BY THE ATTORNEY
 GENERAL. ANY PERSON WHOSE NAME, PORTRAIT, PICTURE,  LIKENESS,  VOICE  OR
 OTHER  IDENTIFYING  MATERIAL  IS USED OR PUBLISHED WITHOUT THEIR WRITTEN
 CONSENT ON A WEBSITE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING IN THIS STATE THAT  GENERATES
 ADVERTISEMENT  REVENUE OR OTHER ROYALTIES OR PROFIT FOR THE PERSON POST-
 ING OR SUBMITTING  SUCH  CONTENT,  AND  WHO  HAS  SUSTAINED  SIGNIFICANT
 HARASSMENT,  FINANCIAL  LOSS OR OTHER INJURIES AS A RESULT OF SUCH USAGE
 OR PUBLICATION MAY PETITION THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ORDER THE REMOVAL OF
 SUCH MATERIAL FROM SUCH WEBSITE. THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SHALL  ORDER  SUCH
 MATERIAL REMOVED FROM SUCH WEBSITE AND SHALL FINE SUCH WEBSITE FOR FAIL-
 URE  TO  REMOVE  SUCH  MATERIAL  WITHIN TEN DAYS OF RECEIPT OF A REMOVAL
 ORDER. THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO THE USE OF SUCH MATERIALS  IN
 ANY  NEWS,  MAGAZINES,  TELEVISION  BROADCASTS, CABLE BROADCASTS, PUBLIC
 AFFAIRS,  RADIO  BROADCASTS,  SPORTS  BROADCASTS,  POLITICAL  CAMPAIGNS,
 GOVERNMENT OR SIMILAR PUBLIC INFORMATION SITES.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.