HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2543
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO DISTINGUISHING PUBLICITY RIGHTS TRADE NAMES FROM OTHER TYPES OF TRADE NAMES BY RENAMING THEM AS PUBLICITY RIGHTS NAMES AND SPECIFYING THE REGISTRATION PROCEDURES APPLICABLE TO PUBLICITY RIGHTS NAMES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to make technical amendments to rename a "publicity rights trade name registration" as a "publicity rights name registration" under chapter 482P, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and to give the department of commerce and consumer affairs discretion to implement the law in a manner that complies with the law's legislative intent.  This Act does not substantively amend publicity rights under chapter 482P, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 482P, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§482P-  Record, issuance and effect of certificate. (a)  Any person desiring to register a publicity rights name may obtain a certificate of registration of the publicity rights name under this chapter.  The director shall have all powers reasonably necessary to administer this chapter efficiently.

(b)  Before any person may receive a certificate of registration of a publicity rights name, the person shall file an application in the office of the director.  The application shall contain a publicity rights name that consists of the assigning individual's or personality's full legal name.  The application form shall contain other information prescribed by the director.

(c)  Upon filing the application, the applicant shall pay a fee of $50 to the director.  A special handling fee of $20 for expediting the registration of a publicity rights name shall be assessed by the director.  All fees and special handling fees shall be credited to the compliance resolution fund established under section 26-9(o).

(d)  Upon receiving the application form accompanied by the fee, the director shall cause the publicity rights name to be recorded and shall issue a certificate of registration to the applicant.

(e)  The term of registration of a publicity rights name shall be five years beginning from the date of registration.  The registration may be renewed for additional five-year periods by filing a renewal application within six months prior to the expiration of the current term and complying with the renewal requirements prescribed by the director.

(f)  If a document delivered to the director for filing satisfies the requirements of this section, the director shall file it.

(g)  The director files a document by stamping or otherwise endorsing the document including the date and time of receipt.

(h)  If the director refuses to file a document, the director shall return it to the applicant or the applicant′s representative together with a brief, written statement of the reason for the director's refusal.

(i)  The director's duty to file documents under this section is ministerial.  The director's filing or refusing to file a document does not:

(1)  Affect the validity or invalidity of the document in whole or in part;

(2)  Relate to the correctness or incorrectness of information contained in the document; or

(3)  Create a presumption that the document is valid or invalid or that information contained in the document is correct or incorrect.

In addition, disputes between applicants with respect to a registered publicity rights name shall be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction."

     SECTION 3.  Section 482P-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     (1)  By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read as follows:

     ""Director" means the director of commerce and consumer affairs.″

     (2)  By amending the definition of "publicity rights trade name registration" to read as follows:

     ""Publicity rights [trade] name registration" means a registration with the department of commerce and consumer affairs of a [trade] publicity rights name under this chapter [482, using the department's procedures for trade name registration, wherein the trade name shall consist of the assigning individual or personality's full legal name and the words ″publicity rights″, preferably in all capital letters.  In administering publicity rights trade name registrations under this chapter, the department shall be exempt from:

(1)  Any liability in excess of that which the department would have for a trade name registration, other than a "publicity rights trade name registration";

(2)  Any duty to decide between competing registrants or the rights established by registration; and

(3)  Any duty to construe the meaning of any provision of this chapter;

provided that the duties under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall be duties of the courts of competent jurisdiction]."

     SECTION 4.  Section 482P-8, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "[[]§482P-8[]]  Procedure for identifying transferees, licensees, or assignees; requirement to seek damages or relief.  (a)  An assignee or transferee of publicity rights shall have the right to make a publicity rights [trade] name registration.  [To obtain the benefit of the protection of this section, the assignee or transferee shall keep the publicity rights trade name registration in force and shall diligently maintain the accuracy of the information in the publicity rights trade name registration.]

     (b)  Publicity rights of a deceased person that were not previously assigned or transferred shall be part of the deceased person's estate and shall be administered by the personal representative of the deceased person as personal property of the deceased person.  On or before closing of probate of a deceased person's estate, the publicity rights of the deceased person shall vest in the transferees of the personal property of the estate in conformity with the deceased person's will or probate order.  If publicity rights are not expressly addressed by the terms of the will or a probate order, and if a publicity rights [trade] name registration is not in effect at the time of the relevant assignment or license, after probate closes, any one of the transferees of the personal property of the deceased person's estate shall have the right to assign or license the publicity rights of the deceased person, and a valid license from any of the transferees of the personal property of the deceased person's estate shall constitute a complete defense to any infringement action under this section.

     (c)  Any person seeking to license publicity rights from a living person shall have the right to presume that a living individual or personality has the right to assign or license the individual or personality's publicity rights unless there is a publicity rights [trade] name registration for that individual or personality.  If there is a publicity rights [trade] name registration for that individual or personality, the person seeking to license publicity rights shall inform the living person in writing that an assignment or license shall be sought from the holder of the publicity rights [trade] name registration before entering into the assignment or license.

     (d)  If there is a publicity rights [trade] name registration for a given individual or personality, any person seeking to license publicity rights for that individual or personality shall have the right to presume that the holder of the publicity rights [trade] name registration has the right to assign or license the individual's or personality's publicity rights and a valid license from the registered holder of the publicity rights [trade] name registration shall constitute a complete defense to any infringement action under this section[.]; provided that the assignee or transferee has kept the publicity rights name registration active and in force, and maintained the accuracy of the information in the publicity rights name registration filing.

     (e)  A person commits an offense if the person signs, manually or via electronic means, a document the person knows is false in any material respect with the intent that the document be delivered or transmitted to the director [of commerce and consumer affairs] in connection with a publicity rights [trade] name registration under this section.  An offense under this subsection shall be a class C felony and may carry a fine not to exceed $10,000.

     (f)  A person commits a misdemeanor if the person negligently and without intent to defraud signs, manually or via electronic means, a document that is false in any material respect with intent that the document be delivered or transmitted to the director [of commerce and consumer affairs] in connection with a publicity rights [trade] name registration under this section.  Commission of a misdemeanor under this subsection may carry a fine not to exceed $2,000.

     (g)  Any person who knowingly makes a false or fraudulent representation or declaration in connection with a publicity rights [trade] name registration pursuant to this section shall be liable for all damages sustained as a result of the false or fraudulent publicity rights [trade] name registration as determined by a court of competent jurisdiction."

SECTION 5.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________
	BY REQUEST

Report Title:

Publicity Rights Names

Description:

Clarifies registration procedures for publicity rights names.

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.