## Facts

- The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ) alleged it acquired Albert Einstein’s postmortem right of publicity through Einstein’s will, which bequeathed to HUJ his “literary property and rights.”
- General Motors LLC (GM) ran a 2009 print advertisement for the 2010 GMC Terrain depicting Einstein’s face digitally placed on a muscular body with the tagline “Ideas are sexy too.”
- Einstein died in 1955 while domiciled in New Jersey.
- HUJ sued in 2010, asserting (among other theories) a postmortem right of publicity under New Jersey common law and California’s statutory postmortem right of publicity.
- GM argued HUJ could not recover because any postmortem publicity right expired long before suit.
- The motion addressed the duration of New Jersey’s common-law postmortem right of publicity and whether California Civil Code § 3344.1 applied.

## Issues

1. What duration would New Jersey common law recognize for a decedent’s postmortem right of publicity: indefinite, 70 years, or a shorter fixed term?
2. Does California Civil Code § 3344.1 provide a postmortem right of publicity for a personality who died domiciled in New Jersey?

## Decision

- The court denied HUJ’s request to treat New Jersey’s postmortem right of publicity as indefinite or at least 70 years.
- Predicting New Jersey law, the court held the postmortem right of publicity would last no more than 50 years after death.
- Because Einstein died in 1955, any New Jersey postmortem publicity right would have expired by 2005, barring HUJ’s 2010 claim.
- The court held California Civil Code § 3344.1 did not apply to HUJ’s claim regarding Einstein.

## Legal Principles

- When state law is unsettled, a federal court applying state law must predict how the state’s highest court would rule.
- New Jersey common-law postmortem publicity protection, as predicted, is time-limited and does not extend beyond 50 years after death.
- Courts may consider comparative state practice and public-domain and free-expression concerns when determining the plausible scope and duration of common-law publicity rights.
- California’s statutory postmortem right of publicity does not extend to a decedent who was not a California resident at death, absent a statutory basis to apply it extraterritorially.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that any New Jersey postmortem right of publicity in Einstein’s persona expired 50 years after his death, and that California’s postmortem publicity statute was unavailable on these facts, eliminating HUJ’s ability to recover from GM on its postmortem publicity theories.


Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem v. Gen. Motors LLC, 903 F. Supp. 2d 932 (C.D. Cal. 2012)