The End of the Saga - What's Michael Jordan's Likeness Worth? 8.9 million

One of my very first blog posts - from June 2013..... 
http://lawforfoodies.blogspot.com/2013/06/jordan-and-dominicks-beef-cautionary_21.html


Finally - the story has come to an end... and the final price tag for Dominick's?  8.9 million dollars!  A federal jury awarded Michael Jordan that amount of money after a protracted battle about Dominick's use of Jordan's likeness in a congratulatory ad in a commemorative edition of Sports Illustrated.  The ad offered a discount for the purchase of Rancher's Reserve Steaks.  Dominick's used his name, trademark number 23, and Air Jordan emblem and admitted that they did not receive Jordan's permission.  It was a clear violation of the Act.

The question came down to damages - that is what was Jordan's likeness worth? Safeway argued it was worth $126,900, and emphasized that only two coupons were redeemed.  Jordan put forth an expert witness that set his damages around $10 million dollars, citing his net worth, and contracts with other advertisers.  The jury returned a verdict much closer to Jordan's value - $8.9 million.   It should be noted that Jordan is donating the entire award to charity.  Further, the award was less than 1% of his 1.1 billion dollar net worth.

Many are asking the question - why did Jordan prosecute this so vigorously if it wasn't about the money?  Well, legally - he may have had to.  His name is worth A LOT of money, and allowing Dominick's to use it without compensating him sets precedent around the world.  

The law has built several doctrines that punish the failure to police likeness or marks, or failure to assert rights.  The doctrine of laches states that if a party waits too long to enforce a right, that party might be prevented from asserting the right at a later time because the delay was prejudicial to the defendant. Additionally, courts have held that the failure to police the use of a mark by unauthorized users can result in a court ruling of abandonment. If Jordan did not act, he could have lost his right to compensation down the line.  Not only did he act, but he set a monetary value on his liking. Count it as another victory for Jordan.