## Facts

- Mickey Dora was a prominent Malibu surfer in the 1950s and 1960s and was widely known within surf culture.
- Frontline Video, Inc. produced and distributed a documentary video, *The Legends of Malibu*, largely chronicling early Malibu surfing, its events, and its public personalities.
- The documentary included historical footage showing Dora surfing, still photographs of him, and audio from an interview of Dora used as background narration.
- Dora alleged Frontline neither interviewed nor photographed him for the program and that he did not consent to the use of his name, photograph, likeness, or voice.
- Dora sued for common-law misappropriation (right of publicity) and for statutory misappropriation under California Civil Code § 3344.
- Frontline moved for summary judgment, asserting the documentary was a sports broadcast/news account involving matters of public interest and therefore protected.
- The trial court granted summary judgment to Frontline, and Dora appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether use of Dora’s name, voice, and likeness in a documentary about Malibu surfing history was a protected publication concerning matters of public interest (or a news/public affairs/sports account) such that no consent was required.
2. Whether the public-interest/newsworthiness protection defeated Dora’s common-law misappropriation claim and his statutory claim under California Civil Code § 3344 as a matter of law on summary judgment.

## Decision

- The Court of Appeal affirmed summary judgment for Frontline.
- The court held the documentary was a publication concerning matters of public interest and thus constitutionally protected.
- The court concluded Frontline was not required to obtain Dora’s consent for the challenged uses.
- Because the newsworthiness/public-interest protection and § 3344’s exemption applied, Dora’s common-law and statutory claims failed as a matter of law.

## Legal Principles

- A claim for common-law misappropriation/right of publicity does not lie merely because a name or likeness is used; publication of matters of legitimate public interest is generally not actionable.
- “Public interest” is not limited to political or “hard news”; it includes cultural history, sports, and retrospective documentary reporting about real events and real people who have attracted bona fide public attention.
- California Civil Code § 3344 prohibits knowing commercial use of another’s identity without consent, but it exempts uses connected to “news,” “public affairs,” or “sports broadcast or account.”
- A documentary sold commercially may still fall within constitutional and statutory protections when it reports on matters of public interest rather than using identity primarily to advertise or falsely suggest endorsement.

## Conclusion

The court held that a documentary recounting Malibu’s early surf culture and its well-known participants was newsworthy and a matter of public interest, so the producer could use a surfer’s name, likeness, and voice without consent, defeating both common-law misappropriation and California Civil Code § 3344 claims on summary judgment.


Dora v. Frontline Video, Inc., 15 Cal. App. 4th 536, 18 Cal. Rptr. 2d 790 (Cal. Ct. App. 1993)