Henley. v. Dillard Department Stores
United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas
46 F. Supp. 2d 587 (N.D. Tex. 1999)
Relevant factsFree
Don Henley (plaintiff), a rock musician formerly of The Eagles, sued Dillard Department Stores (defendant) after it ran an ad for 'henley-style' shirts captioned 'This is Don's henley'-a play on his name. Survey evidence showed 15% of respondents believed Henley had endorsed the product, and the ad's designer admitted the wordplay referenced Henley's name.
IssueFree
Whether an advertiser who uses a celebrity's name in a play on words within an advertisement infringes that celebrity's right of publicity.
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