Does Georgia protect your name and likeness, even after death?

Atlanta musicians, athletes, actors and the families who manage their estates often ask the same question when a stranger sells a shirt, a poster or an ad built on a famous name or face. Our page on personal brand and NIL rights explains how publicity, trademark, copyright and contract fit together. This page looks at the Georgia piece: what the right covers, who can enforce it after death, and where federal law adds a claim, using the federal court decisions that describe Georgia law and the legislature's own records.

How a Georgia publicity claim works, step by step

1. Identify the use. The core rule, as a federal court in Atlanta quoted it: "the appropriation of another's name and likeness . . . without consent and for the financial gain of the appropriator is a tort in Georgia" (Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, N.D. Ga. 2010). Look for three things: your name or likeness, no consent, and someone's financial gain.
2. Confirm who holds the right. A living person enforces it personally. After death, the Eleventh Circuit described the right as "inheritable and devisable," and in the case it was deciding, the claim was brought by the administrator of the deceased woman's estate.
3. Check for consent, releases and licenses. In the same case, the Atlanta court let the publisher take discovery into whether the woman had signed a release or had "licensed or otherwise transferred substantial rights" through her career contracts. Old agreements can decide who owns the claim.
4. Test the exceptions. Georgia recognizes a newsworthiness exception "where an incident is a matter of public interest, or the subject matter of a public investigation," as the court quoted from Waters v. Fleetwood, 212 Ga. 161 (1956). News, commentary and biography are treated very differently from merchandise and ads.
5. Send a written demand. A demand letter that names the use, the missing consent and what you want removed often resolves the matter; see our post on cease and desist letters.
6. File suit if needed. The case discussed here began in the Superior Court of Fayette County and was removed to federal court in Atlanta. Our page on copyright and trademark lawsuits in Atlanta federal court explains how that court handles intellectual property cases.

What happens to the right after death?

In Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, No. 11-12922 (11th Cir. May 1, 2012), the Eleventh Circuit wrote: "In Georgia, the right of publicity survives the death of its owner and is inheritable and devisable." For that point it cited the Georgia Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Social Change, Inc. v. American Heritage Products, Inc., 296 S.E.2d 697 (Ga. 1982).

Two practical points follow. First, the person who controls the right is whoever inherits it under the will or estate, so estate documents should name who manages likeness rights and on what terms. Second, the decisions we reviewed state that the right survives death but do not state a fixed number of years, unlike several states with statutes. Our page on legal protection against AI copies of your voice or face explains why that question now matters for synthetic recreations too.

The Copyright Office's July 2024 report counts 27 states that provide postmortem rights of publicity, 19 by statute and 8 by common law, and calls the overall picture "a patchwork of protections."

Does federal law add anything?

Yes, in commercial settings. The Lanham Act's false endorsement provision, 15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1)(A), makes liable anyone who uses a name, symbol or "false or misleading representation of fact" in commerce that is likely to cause confusion "as to the origin, sponsorship, or approval" of goods or services. That claim works nationwide and can be brought in federal court, but the Copyright Office notes it requires commercial use and likely confusion, which is easier to prove for well-known people.

Trademark registration is the other federal tool. A registered name or stage name gives you a number that marketplaces and platforms act on; our page comparing Georgia and federal trademark registration explains the options.

Copyright is separate and often belongs to someone else. The photographer usually owns the photo, even though you are in it, as our page on who owns a photo of you explains. That is why a publicity claim, not a copyright claim, is usually the tool for the person pictured.

Has Georgia passed a likeness or digital replica statute?

Not that we found as of October 4, 2026. Several bills were filed in the 2025 to 2026 session, and the legislature's status pages for the bills below show none reaching final passage.

One related statute is in force. Georgia's 2021 SB 78 (Act 207, effective July 1, 2021) revised O.C.G.A. 16-11-90, the criminal law on posting nude or sexually explicit images without consent, so that it covers "a falsely created videographic or still image." Our page on getting a deepfake intimate image taken down covers the removal side.

What changes the answer

• Consent and old contracts. A release, endorsement deal or merchandising license can authorize the use or move the right to someone else, which is why the Atlanta court allowed discovery into licenses (Toffoloni, N.D. Ga. 2010).
• Newsworthiness. Coverage of a matter of public interest is protected (Waters v. Fleetwood, as quoted in Toffoloni). As the Atlanta court described it, the Eleventh Circuit's first decision in that case, Toffoloni v. LFP Publishing Group, 572 F.3d 1201 (11th Cir. 2009), held that the photographs at issue were not protected by that exception.
• Financial gain. The Georgia rule as quoted turns on use "for the financial gain of the appropriator," so ads and merchandise sit at the center of the claim.
• Intent and punitive damages. The Eleventh Circuit described Georgia law as allowing punitive damages for a publicity violation only on clear and convincing proof of "premeditation or knowledge," and generally capping them at $250,000 under O.C.G.A. 51-12-5.1(f) absent specific intent to harm. In the 2012 decision it vacated the punitive award because the publisher honestly, though mistakenly, believed the use was newsworthy.
• Commercial confusion. A federal false endorsement claim needs likely confusion about sponsorship or approval (15 U.S.C. 1125(a)(1)(A)).
• Where the use happened. Other states' laws differ widely in coverage and term, according to the Copyright Office, so a national campaign can raise more than one state's law.

A worked example

Common mistakes

• Assuming rights end at death. In the Toffoloni case, a publisher's writer testified he believed any rights were extinguished by death; Georgia law, as the Eleventh Circuit described it, says otherwise.
• Leaving likeness out of the will. If no one is named to manage it, heirs may disagree about licensing or enforcement.
• Relying on copyright you do not own. The person pictured rarely owns the photo; plan around publicity and endorsement claims instead.
• Overlooking old deals. Expired or still-running licenses decide whether a use was authorized; read them before sending a demand.
• Skipping trademark. A registered name supports platform takedowns and confusion claims; our page on trademark protection for creators covers what to register.
• Waiting for a new statute. The 2025 and 2026 bills did not pass; enforce the rights that exist now.

What to do this week

1. Save each unauthorized use with URL, date and screenshots, and buy one item if merchandise is involved.
2. Gather endorsement, merchandise, record and management contracts that mention name or likeness.
3. For an estate, confirm who is executor or administrator and what the will says about intellectual property.
4. Check whether the name is registered as a trademark, and in which classes.
5. Write down whether each use is commercial, news, commentary or art.
6. Decide what you want: removal, a license fee, or both, before any demand goes out.
7. Add a likeness clause to your estate plan and to any new license.

Frequently asked questions

Is Georgia's right of publicity in a statute?

The decisions we reviewed rest it on case law, and the 2025 to 2026 bills that would have written a statute did not pass. That can change in a future session, so check the legislature's site before relying on this.

Do you have to be famous to have a claim?

The Georgia rule as quoted by the Atlanta federal court speaks of "another's name and likeness" without a fame requirement. Recognition matters more for a federal false endorsement claim, where you must show likely confusion.

Can a family member sue for a deceased relative?

Generally the person who inherits the right, often through the estate, is the one who enforces it. In Toffoloni, the claim was brought by the administrator of the estate, and the court allowed discovery into whether earlier licenses had moved any rights.

Does a newspaper or documentary need permission?

Usually not for newsworthy coverage, which Georgia treats as an exception. Ads and merchandise are different, and using news as a label does not protect a purely commercial use.

Can I license my likeness and keep control?

Yes. A license can limit media, territory, term and approval, and can address AI replicas. Our post on IP licensing for creators and brands explains how to structure the grant.

Does the right cover my voice?

The Georgia decisions described here speak of "name and likeness" and do not address a voice used alone. In advertising, the Copyright Office's report notes commenters citing successful Lanham Act claims against soundalikes and lookalikes, so the federal claim may fill that gap.

Zala IP Law advises artists, athletes, creators and estates on likeness rights, licensing and responses to unauthorized commercial uses, and Shreepal J. Zala is licensed in Georgia and practices federal intellectual property and entertainment law nationally. Our page for intellectual property and entertainment clients in Atlanta explains how the work runs. If someone is selling your name or face, or a family member's, request a consultation or call 404-313-1701.