Jack Nicklaus Is Enmeshed in a Life Rights Dispute

Maybe there’s something in the air, but life and likeness rights appear to be rumbling around the collective unconscious right now. Pink Floyd’s recent blockbuster catalog sale included name and likeness rights, and the current season of Only Murders in the Building has also included a subplot about life rights. While this can seem like a pretty standard part of entertainment industry dealmaking, there are some downsides to it — and few things illustrate that as well as the case of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus.

As Eriq Gardner reports at Puck, this stems from Nicklaus selling his likeness rights as part of a $145 million deal in 2007. Nicklaus has spent the last few years attempting to get those rights back. Earlier this year, an arbitrator ruled in favor of Nicklaus and against the Nicklaus Company, stating that Nicklaus himself could again offer services such as golf course design — and that the noncompete agreements he had previously signed expired in 2022.

Puck’s analysis of the case points out that there’s more at stake here than whether or not Nicklaus can legally design a golf course. Gardner writes that “the Nicklaus Companies have authorized an A.I. version of Nicklaus” — one which Nicklaus himself noted could be used to advertise products. To what extent is a celebrity’s name their name and to what extent is it a brand, as much of a commodity as trademarked names like “iPod” or “New York Yankees”? The legal battles between Nicklaus and the Nicklaus Companies get at the heart of this matter.

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Unfortunately, this case sounds like the beginning of a much larger trend as opposed to a one-off example. Last year brought with it the announcement of an AI-generated James Dean that could star in new films. Will we even need to have new celebrities if the big names of yesteryear can remain (digitally) immortal? It sounds like the stuff of satirical science fiction, but it’s playing out in boardrooms and courtrooms right now.