KhattarWong LLP

The article is on Personality and Character Merchandising. A reporter of Shin Min Daily called Mr Ung to find out what rights have been infringed if a celebrity’s name is used by a firm to name its products. This is the area of Personality and Character Merchandising.

There are likely to have legal liabilities if a celebrity’s name or a cartoon character is used on products or services without consent. The law does not protect names or characters per se. It is only when goodwill is associated with these names and characters will legal remedy be available. In other words what the law protects are the economic values in these names and characters. A very brief account on this branch of law is given, and the cases of Mirage Studios v Counter-Feat Clothing [ the Ninja Turtles ] and Irvine v Talkspot Ltd. were cited. It is the law of Passing Off that is relevant in these types of cases.