Vanna White v. Samsung Electronics America Inc - Essay Example

The intent of using a celebrity likeness must be for-profit purposes, as was the case with Samsung. Further, the exploitation clearly captures the plaintiff in its content (Shahid, 1). A similar situation occurred in Carson v. Here are Johnny Portable Toilets in 1983. The company used this popular slogan that society understood as belonging to Johnny Carson and was protected by trademarks. Clearly, embarrassment or public humiliation could have been the product of this infringement on Carson’s rights and therefore the company was sued successfully.

The image of the celebrity or the use of other trademark slogans associated does not have to be explicit or specific so long as there is little doubt as to who the infringer is attempting to identify with. When it is profitability that the infringer is seeking, there are no protections afforded under the tort of appropriation laws that govern each state in the country. Samsung should have known better than to create this type of content without consulting White first.