Pryor Cashman Partner Ryan Klarberg, a member of the Intellectual Property, Media + Entertainment, Digital Media, and Litigation Groups, spoke with World Intellectual Property Review about the risks of using athletes’ recognizable traits in real-time marketing campaigns following Erling Haaland’s lawsuit against Norwegian Air Shuttle over its use of his signature blond ponytail in a social media post.

In “Hair suit: Erling Haaland and the limits of real-time marketing,” Ryan discusses the distinction between public commentary on an athlete’s appearance and the commercial use of recognizable features:

“While athletes cannot typically control how the public talks about or imitates a particular characteristic, they may be able to restrict its use by businesses seeking to sell products or services.”

Ryan also explains how the scope of identity protection could affect Haaland’s claim:

“If the law where Haaland filed his suit protects the commercial value of identity, as many US states do, rather than just a person’s photograph, his claim has real merit.”

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