Challenges of the Right to Fame and the Consequences of Its Violation in the Iranian Legal System

Abstract

In today’s world, individuals with fame and reputation frequently leverage their fame as a valuable commodity to obtain financial benefits. This typically occurs through the exploitation by suppliers of goods and services, using the names, images, voices, or videos of these individuals. Although the right to benefit from an individual’s fame is widely recognized across the world, there remains no consensus regarding its legal nature. Some legal experts view it as a purely financial right and emphasize its commercial essence. Conversely, another school of thought classifies it under personality-related rights and rejects the financial perspective on it. Given these differing views, the fundamental question arises: where does this right fall in the dichotomy of property rights versus personality rights? Our hypothesis in this article is that both aspects of fame should be considered, and neither should be overlooked, as neither can be questioned or denied. There is no room to doubt the interconnection between personality and the identity of a famous individual, nor can the financial benefits of fame in today’s world be ignored. Therefore, taking both aspects into account and considering the financial impacts of the right, it is necessary to address the requirements related to personality rights.