IMAGE RIGHTS
Your name, your face, your call.
Protection, licensing, and enforcement of an athlete's name, image, and likeness across Canadian media and advertising.
THE DIRECT ANSWER
What are image rights?
Image rights — sometimes called personality rights or right of publicity — are the legal right to control how an individual's name, image, voice, and likeness are used commercially. In Canada, image rights are protected primarily through tort law (appropriation of personality) and statutory schemes in certain provinces, plus trademark and copyright where applicable.
WHY IT MATTERS
Strong protection, but you have to enforce it.
Canadian image rights law is strong but less codified than in many US states. The doctrine of appropriation of personality protects individuals from having their likeness used commercially without consent. Provinces like British Columbia, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan have statutory privacy acts that add extra protection. In Ontario, protection flows through case law.
For athletes, image rights matter in two directions: stopping unauthorized commercial use of your image, and structuring the licences you grant to brands, leagues, and media so you keep control over how you are portrayed and how you are paid when your image makes money.
Common failure points: league agreements that grant broad image rights to the league for marketing purposes without the athlete realizing the scope, endorsement deals with perpetual worldwide usage, and game footage used in advertising without a clear licence.
HOW WE SUPPORT YOU
01
Advise on the scope and enforcement of Canadian image rights.
02
Draft image and likeness licences for endorsement deals and ambassador programs.
03
Review league, team, and national federation image grants.
04
Pursue infringement claims for unauthorized commercial use.
05
Structure image rights vehicles for athletes with significant commercial income.
06
Handle celebrity look-alike, deepfake, and AI-generated likeness issues.
FAQ
Common questions about image rights.
Can someone use my image without my permission?
What about game footage?
I'm a Canadian athlete playing in the US. Whose image rights law applies?
What about AI-generated images?
Should I have an image rights vehicle?
What if a brand is using my image without permission?
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