Law Commons^™

What's In A Name? Law's Identity Under The Tort Of Appropriation, Jonathan Kahn

Faculty Scholarship

This article is divided into three parts. In Part I, the article explores the notion that under the tort of appropriation, a person’s name is understood to implicate critical aspects of her identity. This notion is explored in relation to specific historical cases raising the issues of whether a woman who adopts her husband’s name has a property right in that name and whether a person who adopts a professional or stage name has separate rights in that name apart from his legal name. Second, Part II focuses on a person’s right to maintain the integrity of his physical image. …