A Bill to Restrict Use of Celebrity Images

I received the following advisement from ASMP in my e-mail. A prior e-mail had advised contacting the Senate, but didn't even mention the Assembly. Photographers in L.A. should have shown up at the office of sponsoring Senator Kuehl, but it's too late for that. She, like the governor, has her roots in acting (she worked under the name of Sheila James, and played Zelda on the old Dobie Gillis show) and I doubt that the governator's going to refuse to sign this bill. While my read on it is not quite the same as ASMP's, I suspect it will take a lawsuit to find out exactly how far the legislation actually goes to damage the value of older images.
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The California right-of-publicity bill (Senate Bill 771) has now passed in the Assembly. There are only two things we can do to improve the situation:

1. Call your Senator and ask that the bill be amended by deleting Subsection P, which is the provision that makes the legislation retroactive —- THIS MUST BE DONE BY FRIDAY.
2. Call the Governor and ask him to veto the bill.

It is crucial that you act right away! After Friday, it may be too late.

Please call your state Senator’s office. Here is where you can find his or her contact info:

http://192.234.213.69/smapsearch/framepage.asp

Governor Schwarzenegger’s main office telephone number is 916-445-2841.

Just tell the person who answers the phone that you are a constituent and admantly opposed to Senate Bill 771. Tell your Senator’s staff member that you want the bill amended by deleting the retroactive aspect, Subsection P. Tell the Governor’s staff member that you want him to veto the legislation.

It will only take a couple of minutes of your time, but those few minutes may save you years of problems.

Please feel free to pass this message along to other photographers you know who may not have received this message.

This is probably your last chance to prevent this bill from going through in its current form.

Thank you for your help and cooperation.