Store Research
SENATE BILL 613 (CAMPBELL – 1984)
CHAPTER 1704, STATUTES OF 1984
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Civil Code section 3344 was amended and former section 990 (the precursor to current Civil Code section 3344.1) was added to the Civil Code in 1984 following legislative approval of Senate Bill 613, which affected these two sections only. (See Exhibit #1j) Senate Bill 613 was introduced by Senator William Campbell on February 28, 1983. (See Exhibit #1a) The bill was supported by the Screen Actors Guild and the heirs of certain celebrities. (See Exhibit #6)
In the Senate, the bill was considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee. (See Exhibit #3) While before the Assembly, Senate Bill 613 was heard in the Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Ways and Means. (See Exhibits #8 and #10) This bill was amended eight times as it was considered by both Houses. (See Exhibits #1b through #1i and #2) After passage in the Legislature, the measure was approved by Governor George Deukmejian on September 30, 1984 and chaptered on that date by the Secretary of State as Chapter 1704 of the Statutes of 1984. (See Exhibits #1j and #2)
The Legislative Counsel’s Rule 26.5 analysis of Senate Bill 613 as last amended on August 9, 1984, provided the following description of the bill, stating:
SB 613, as it passed the Senate, extended a provision of existing law, which provides for damages for the unauthorized use of another’s name, photograph, or likeness for advertising or solicitation of purchases, to also cover the use of another’s voice, signature, or image, and to the use for selling products, merchandise, or goods, or for providing services, or for any other commercial purpose for which consent is required, and also extended that provision to cover decedents for 100 years after that persons death, and made other changes.
The Assembly amendments, instead, extend existing law to cover the use of another’s voice or signature, and to a use in any products, merchandise, or goods and to a use for the purchase of selling products, merchandise, goods, or services. They enact a similar provision applicable to deceased personalities for 50 years after their death, and require a person claiming that right to register a claim with the Secretary of State.
(See Exhibit #14)