Astronaut sues singer for using him on the cover of her album.

Link

Astronaut Bruce McCandless, better known as the only astronaut to space-walk without being tethered to anything (so, not really known at all, since people haven't cared about astronauts for decades,) is suing Dido (who still exists, apparently,) for using his image on the cover of her 2008 album.

This is an understandable concern, any reasonable human being would think use of their likeness shouldn't be allowed without permission, many people have a problem with images of themselves appearing in various places even if the image isn't even compromising, and it's not fair that someone would make money by using said image...


[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

...oh.

Yes, really.

Quote :

Now, it's notable that McCandless is not claiming copyright over the image -- which is good, because he almost certainly doesn't own the copyright. Either the photographer who shot the image does or (more likely) the photo is owned by NASA which should make it public domain (though, potentially not). It appears that instead, McCandless is claiming a violation of his publicity rights, which we've noted has become all too popular a legal strategy these days. It's quickly getting up there in popularity as a "new form" of intellectual property -- and one that is perhaps even more questionable than patents and copyrights.

The article was later updated to confirm that, yes, this is a publicity rights claim. He is actually specifically saying (likely because there's nothing else he could actually sue over) that this use of his image has generated profit for the product he is entitled to.


As an extra bonus, Gene Simmons says all P2P users should be sued, taking the cars and homes of every file trader is the only logical way to combat piracy, farmers, foxes and dudes in sailor suits somehow have something to do with this. Why he doesn't just say "Sailor," I'm not sure.

Hmm, I wonder if he objects to generally being on an album cover, or just because it's fucking Dido, who is migraine-inducingly awful?

Alhazred wrote:

As an extra bonus, Gene Simmons says all P2P users should be sued, taking the cars and homes of every file trader is the only logical way to combat piracy, farmers, foxes and dudes in sailor suits somehow have something to do with this. Why he doesn't just say "Sailor," I'm not sure.

And suddenly I remembered Nick Simmons and his comic book.

Wow, talk about reaching for an argument.

ZoZo wrote:

Hmm, I wonder if he objects to generally being on an album cover, or just because it's fucking Dido, who is migraine-inducingly awful?

I'm thinking it's because of the artist.

Who's Dido? The name rings a bell, but I can't actually attach any music to it.

Of course, this could be repression or a refusal to broaden my definition of "music" enough.

She sung White Flag or some other song or something.

Her biggest claim to fame was being mentioned in an episode of Scrubs three times.

gaijinguy wrote:

Who's Dido? The name rings a bell, but I can't actually attach any music to it.

I think one of her songs got sampled by Eminem ages ago. That's the most I remember.

How can anyone even tell who that is? It's not like he has his name on the back of his space suit in three-inch letters or anything. People with eyes like mine wouldn't know it was an astronaut if they weren't told. It's so fucking tiny!

Dido was the Queen of Carthage who fell twice for the Trojan Aeneas. The first time was when she fell in love with him; the second was when he said, "Sorry, chicky baby, I gotta split,"* and she threw herself off a cliff.




*Yes, the Trojans really did talk like characters in a 50s B-movie. They did.

^Wait, I thought she threw herself on a pyre where she was burning an effigy of Aeneas?

InkWeaver wrote:

^Wait, I thought she threw herself on a pyre where she was burning an effigy of Aeneas?

Checked my copy, she stabs herself when she sees Aeneas' fleet leaving. Though before she stabbed herself she climbed to the top of the pyre.

Fuck, whenever I see the title of this thread "White Flag" starts playing in my head.