Discussion:
Michigan
Is it legal to use a famous persons name, without their approval, on a t-shirt?
These are everywhere - but can they do this?
Is there a difference whether it is a positive or negative statement?
Does it make a difference if their likeness is also used?
e.g. I saw a tee that said "Free Michael Jackson" (with his likness).
Is it automatically copywrighted if I can prove I 1st came up with the design?
Do I need to officially get it copywrited (with the understanding that someone could still use the idea)?
If this IS legal - can a phrase that includes their name be trademarked?
e.g. Say I had 1st come up with "W The President" or something even more specific (using his full name).
I wouldn't want his people to take it from me (or anyone else for that matter).
If I could TM this phrase - am I correct that I would own ANY/ALL use of the phrase?
My idea includes a famous name & it is positive - the phrase is my own - the phrase is not anything this person has ever said, etc. It would be positive advertising of the person.
Answer:
Michigan
Is it legal to use a famous persons name, without their approval, on a t-shirt?
These are everywhere - but can they do this?
Is there a difference whether it is a positive or negative statement?
Does it make a difference if their likeness is also used?
e.g. I saw a tee that said "Free Michael Jackson" (with his likness).
Is it automatically copywrighted if I can prove I 1st came up with the design?
Do I need to officially get it copywrited (with the understanding that someone could still use the idea)?
If this IS legal - can a phrase that includes their name be trademarked?
e.g. Say I had 1st come up with "W The President" or something even more specific (using his full name).
I wouldn't want his people to take it from me (or anyone else for that matter).
If I could TM this phrase - am I correct that I would own ANY/ALL use of the phrase?
My idea includes a famous name & it is positive - the phrase is my own - the phrase is not anything this person has ever said, etc. It would be positive advertising of the person.
**A: you used terrible examples; wacko jacko and george w.
Answer:
Yeah - I wanted something obviously understood - hey I never said I own/wear those t-shirts!

Answer:
**A: you used terrible examples; wacko jacko and george w. that aside ...hoping you might share some of your expert advice on this.
Answer:
The rules about using another person's name and likeness are generally privacy rules, although some famous people have protected their name and/or likeness under trademark in certain circumstances. You generally can't use another's name or likeness commercially without their permission -- the one exception is for parody, and most of the shirts you are discussing probably fall under the definition of "parody" -- so if you are making fun of the person, you can probably use the name and likeness.
As far as "Free Michael Jackson" is concerned, that's not a parody, but still may be allowable. You would need to look at the defamation rules to really figure out if what you are doing is legal or not.
Is it automatically copywrighted if I can prove I 1st came up with the design? Yes.
If I could TM this phrase - am I correct that I would own ANY/ALL use of the phrase? Not necessarily. There are different types of trademarks, only "standard word marks" really protect against all (or almost all) uses of the phrase. But you can't just copyright a phrade -- the phrase has to be used by you as an identifier of your product of service to be protected by trademark, you can't just use trademark to stake out a claim to a phrase.
You would be best off talking with a local attorney who can review what exactly you want to do, and let you know what's legal and what isn't.