IMAGE RIGHTS PROTECTION: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF LEGAL FRAMEWORKS IN SELECTED JURISDICTIONS

Abstract

The protection of image rights has become increasingly significant in the digital age, where a person’s image conveys social, commercial, and moral value beyond mere representation. Through a qualitative research methodology using doctrinal design, this article provides a comparative analysis of legal frameworks of image rights protection in Nigeria, the United States, France, and Germany. The findings revealed that in the United States of America image rights are recognised as the ‘right of publicity’ distinct from ‘privacy rights’ and are protected through state statutes and common law, allowing individuals to control and profit from the commercial use of their persona. While France protects image rights under the broader concept of ‘personality rights’ (droit à l’image), emphasising consent and post-mortem enforcement through civil and criminal provisions. Also, Germany protects ‘personality rights’ through constitutional principles and the Kunsturhebergesetz, focusing on human dignity while offering limited commercial protection. In contrast, Nigeria lacks a dedicated statutory regime for image rights, relying on a patchwork of constitutional privacy provisions, data protection laws, intellectual property statutes, and case law. This fragmented approach often fails to adequately protect both personal and commercial interests, leaving individuals, particularly celebrities, vulnerable to unauthorised exploitation of their likeness. The article highlights the urgent need for Nigeria to adopt a structured legal framework, either through a standalone statute or expansion of existing laws, to recognise image rights as both a personality and commercial interest.