When I started TechCrunch nearly three years ago it was meant to be little more than a hobby. I love startups, and writing about them was fun, not work. But since then this hobby has grown into a real business. We have a number of full and part time employees that need to get paid every two weeks, and advertisers/sponsors that we owe a certain level of professionalism towards. We’ve also acquired a number of other startups (plus this one, just announced). TechCrunch is a serious thing, and needs to be treated seriously by others. We demand some respect around here.
My own personal brand has risen over the years as well to the point where I believe I can say without hubris that I am a very important person. Forbes recently named me No. 2 on their list of web celebrities, for example, and Business Week says I’m one of the 25 most influential people on the web. I’ve also appeared in numerous JibJab videos. More details, if you care to read them, are on our about page. My agent has told me numerous times that I need to be more careful with how I leverage my personal brand, and to be aware of others who are using/abusing it for commercial reasons.
So we’ve been increasingly concerned about developments at Facebook over the last few months that allow advertisers to post ads using my picture and name to endorse their products without my explicit permission. I’ve received literally dozens of emails from readers asking me if I’m associated with Blockbuster’s Movie Clique application, or the new Jackass movie (no to both).
These ads appear in both the sidebar and in my friends’ news feeds. See examples below:
Our attorneys believe that the use of my image and name in third party advertising is a violation of my statutory and common law publicity rights (we’ve written explicitly about this issue before). Specifically, this leads to user confusion as to whether or not I am actually endorsing these products.
The key factor in determining whether a use is permitted or not in California (where I live) is Civil Code Section 3344, which was first enacted in 1971. California is perhaps more aggressive than any other state in protecting publicity rights because of the number of people engaged in the entertainment business. The law allows for recuperation of damages, attorney’s fees and injunctive relief, as well as unspecified punitive damages and statutory damages of $750/incident in the event a person’s “name, voice, signature, photograph, or likeness” is used “in any manner on or in products, merchandise, or goods, or for purposes of advertising or selling, or soliciting purchases of products, merchandise, goods or services, without such person’s prior consent.” There are additional common law remedies available to us as well.
Facebook will argue that users give permission in the terms and conditions. They also allow users to opt out of having their images placed in ads. Our lawyers say that’s a pretty good defense but that they can most likely win over a jury anyway if they focus more on emotional issues rather than the actual facts and legal precedent.
In truth, there hasn’t been much in way of actual damages to back up the lawsuit. But where we’ll really be able to stick it to Facebook is the $750 per incident statutory damages. It’s a stretch, but we’re going to argue that every impression of an ad that includes my name or likeness is an “incident.” Based on our calculations and recent comscore data, we estimate the number of impressions to be in the hundreds of thousands at the very least. Multiplying that number by $750 gets us to damages of at least $150 million.
At this point we’re prepared to settle the case for $25 million in Facebook stock (priced at the employee option price, not that ridiculous $15 billion Microsoft valuation), a small fraction of the amount we’ll almost certainly receive if this case goes to trial, plus guaranteed exclusives on all new Facebook product releases. A recent case involving Taster’s Choice, for example, had an award of $15.6 million in damages.
I am sad that this had to blow up to the point where we are publicly suing Facebook over the matter. We’ll be filing the lawsuit tomorrow along with a related civil case for assault and battery and infliction of emotional distress. In a round of negotiations over the lawsuit with Facebook led by Chief Privacy Officer Chris Kelly, things got out of hand. When our team of lawyers offered to settle for a mere $50 million, Kelly told me Facebook would “bury you and bury your crappy blog” if we filed the suit. He then threw his steaming hot triple soy latte espresso at me, which caused extensive second degree burns over the top half of my body. Later on, he also unfriended me.
I hate April Fools’ day on the internet.
Michael, is this true or just a 1st of April joke: “he then threw his steaming hot triple soy latte espresso at me, which caused extensive second degree burns over the top half of my body.” ?
Your a day early.
oh well.
I laugh anyways.
April fools?
Come on this one is WAY to easy!
and so it begins……………..
come on man, you can do a lot better than this.
Aprils fool on you!
I was slightly sold till the end when the coffee was thrown…hahha….fun read though Michael!
He he, I used Google Future GDay and found out this was a joke!
IPitytheAprilFoools!
LOL! Nice try.
I think we should really stop this april fool day thing. Is been a fool honorable enough to celebrated with a “DAY”?
wow
Good luck on 25$ million bucks. Allot of people would be rich because of this.
USA recession is here.
Michael,
I read TechCrunch on a daily basis. A lot of the articles I find here are super interesting.
Now if this is not a prank, I think this is serious business and you have all the rights in your favour. I don’t care how big a business is, it has no business threatening other businesses.
That last part really got my hair standing on end. Personally, if I were you I’d go after them with everything I had. It’s the principle of the thing really.
So keep us posted and best of luck,
Shiv.
Brilliant, Mr. Arringrton! Go for it and spare some change for your friends at the StartUp-scene in Berlin. We will take you out for a German beer.
Happy holidays, G.H.
Haha. You had me going there for a second.
Next year I’m starting April Fool’s on March 30th.
You had me at “TechCrunch is a serious thing, and needs to be treated seriously by others.”… APRIL FOOLS!
Let’s see… Facebook top navigation > Privacy > News Feed and Mini-Feed > Social Ads > Appearance in Social Ads > (drop down select) No one… Very very lame April fools joke (and not even on April Fools day).
I was gonna say you’re a total douche for biting the hand that feeds you but I came to realize that it’s a joke. Sorry for thinking you’re a douche. That won’t happen again
Nice attempt at building some backlinks.
I think the reference to FuckedCompany gave it away.
Show us the second degree burns and we will certainly believe it!!
I took this seriously until the last couple paragraphs. Hilarious though.
hehe, good start to the day!
Mike, Mike, Mike, thanks for the early April Fool’s joke - good one! Of course you can set your privacy so your face NEVER appears in a social ad on Facebook. I’ll pay you 25 CENTS if you post a screenshot of the privacy page for your readers
Brandee Barker
Facebook
PS - you spelled Chris Kelly’s name wrong. Oh, and he wants to know if you’re available for lattes anytime soon?
Great AF joke. If it were real, FB would most likely be protected by the CDA Section 230 (since recent precedent says state IP claims are not excluded).
Stick it to them Arrington! for all of us.
this better not be a prank lol… i don’t think you’ll enjoy the backlash
I don’t think its a Joke, it is some really awesome contextually matching technology that can match JackAss the movie and Michael Arrington
I have never read a serious piece where the author refers to himself as “I am a very important person”.
Nice, LOL.
Too early for April Fools - I hope FB has a comeback to make this more interesting…
this better be an April Fool’s joke, if not
two words: Gold Digger
Brandee - our lawyers were pretty clear that you guys are not allowed to try to communicate with me directly on this matter. Unless you’re prepared to settle immediately, of course. I’ll knock my offer down to a cool $10 million if you act immediately. You guys can soooo afford that.
Michael,
I would hire me “Jack Chiles” and would advise you to stay from any an all “Balms”
Very Funny!
This was my favorite bit:
“My own personal brand has risen over the years as well to the point where I believe I can say without hubris that I am a very important person.”
Next time my wife tells me to take out the trash - I’m using that.
fail april fools is fail
When you want to be taken as a real company then you don’t waste your readers time with a stupid kid’s story.
Funny how the ‘Net companies want to be considered legit company, but they don’t really want to act grown up.
Hi,
It always works, and get great link-baiting, but it’s got tiresome very quickly, everyone on the net devoting so much planning to it, trying to out do each other.
Yours curmudgeonly,
Shakir Razak
This is a day early but funny none the less. But I don’t doubt that you are a very important person, some people think you can make or break start ups
not that I believe that hype, I read TC because I think it does a good job covering news about startups.
“I believe I can say without hubris that I am a very important person.”
hahaha
Michael,
I new about this lawsuit yesterday when I used G-Day. Thus, it’s now old news.
you totally had me there
Shouldn’t the title of the post be:” Why I am Jumping the Gun on April’s Fool and Posting a Prank on March 31st”?
I wish you were actually represented by that Ashton Kutcher photographer’s rep dude who threatened with the cease and desist….now THAT would have been a funny April Fool’s joke…except that he would not have figured it out and sued you for using his name.
Ha. Not sure if this is an April fools joke? Anyone that didn’t read the article all the way through might be reminded of that trick quiz we all took in high school.
Remember the quiz that taught you that reading the entire article was requisite.
From the last paragraph:
Arrington: “He then threw his steaming hot triple soy latte espresso at me, which caused extensive second degree burns over the top half of my body.”
Happy April, Michael.
Hahahaha, happy April Fools to you too!
fight fight fight!!
Meh. Convincing in some parts but bad in others
count me in. lets sue the f@!kers.
The funny thing is, TC wields so much influence, that at this time next year - jokes like this might not be an option.