As we’ve mentioned before, Michael Jordan’s appropriation of likeness lawsuit has been allowed to continue.
This all started in 2009, when an advertisement was published in a special edition of Sports Illustrated, which was produced to commemorate Michael Jordan’s induction into the hall of fame. The advertisement was one by Jewel Food Stores, Inc., a Chicago-run supermarket chain, and it congratulated Jordan on his induction.
Now, six years later, the grocer and Michael Jordan are embroiled in a civil lawsuit in which the NBA Hall-of-Famer is claiming that Jewel wrongfully used his likeness for commercial purposes, and in doing so also violated the Illinois Rights of Publicity Act.
As the December 8 trial date approaches, the parties are now disputing what instructions the jurors should be given when the time comes. On Thursday, Jordan urged an Illinois federal judge to reject proposed instruction submitted by Jewel. He claims the instructions imply that it has not yet been determined if Jewel violated the Illinois Rights of Publicity Act in running their ad. According to Jordan, this is contrary to the findings of the Seventh Circuit regarding the ad, which he claims, “necessarily lead to only one conclusion: Defendants’ ad violated IRPA.”