Publicity Rights as a Tool for Protection of Celebrities and Public Figures in Kosovo

Abstract

Currently, there is no special law for the protection of publicity rights in Kosovo, and a limited protection can be only afforded through different forms of intellectual property rights, i.e., trademark and copyright, as well as under the privacy protection and anti-defamation legislation, as well as property law regime. While the right to privacy and anti-defamation laws represent means to protect the human dignity, they are nevertheless not sufficient to justify an application of the right of privacy when the motives are to protect the commercial value of the persona. Hence the current paper aims at analysing the current regulation of publicity rights in Kosovo, as well as the scope of protection through a comparative analysis of the publicity rights legislation in different jurisdictions. The paper will also discuss the main policies and legal theories behind the right of publicity, explore different approaches expressed in the legal doctrine, and propose specific actions for Kosovo legislators in this regard.