## Facts

- Schonhorn Enterprises, Inc. manufactured and sold a golf-themed board game, “Pro-Am Golf Game.”
- The game contained 23 “Profile and Playing Chart” sheets with the names and short biographies of well-known golfers; four sheets used the names and profiles of Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Doug Sanders, and Jack Nicklaus.
- The profiles used accurate facts about the golfers’ careers.
- The golfers did not consent to the use of their names or biographies and demanded removal; the company refused.
- For summary-judgment purposes, it was admitted that using the golfers’ names and biographies increased the game’s marketability and public acceptance.
- It was also admitted that the golfers earned substantial income from the commercial value of their names, including endorsements and licensing.
- The golfers alleged the unauthorized use impaired their ability to secure licensing/endorsement arrangements and constituted an invasion of privacy through commercial exploitation.

## Issues

1. Whether the unauthorized use of professional athletes’ names and biographies in a commercially sold board game constitutes misappropriation (appropriation of name or likeness) under New Jersey privacy law.
2. Whether truthfulness and public availability of the biographical information defeats a misappropriation claim when the use is for commercial gain.
3. Whether injunctive relief is available to stop continued commercial use of the plaintiffs’ identities without consent.

## Decision

- The court held the company’s use of the golfers’ names and profiles in the board game, without consent, violated the appropriation branch of the right of privacy.
- The court denied the defendant’s motion for summary judgment.
- The court granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment to the extent of awarding injunctive relief restraining further use of their names and profiles in connection with the game.

## Legal Principles

- New Jersey recognizes a privacy-based claim for appropriation of a person’s name or identity for another’s commercial benefit without consent.
- Liability may be found where a defendant uses a person’s identity “for purposes of trade,” as distinct from uses tied to news reporting or other public-information functions.
- Truthful and publicly available biographical facts do not bar liability when the wrong is unauthorized commercial exploitation rather than falsity.
- Evidence that the identity use increases a product’s marketability supports a finding of commercial appropriation.
- Where a person’s name has commercial value (including for endorsements and licensing), unauthorized commercial use may justify injunctive relief to prevent continued exploitation.

## Conclusion

The court concluded that a commercial product may not use celebrity athletes’ names and biographies to increase sales without consent, even if the information is accurate and publicly known, and it enjoined further distribution of the game materials containing the plaintiffs’ identities.


Palmer v. Schonhorn Enters., Inc., 96 N.J. Super. 72, 232 A.2d 458 (Ch. Div. 1967)