Entertainment attorney Donald Passman weighs in on holograms and copyrights

Last week’s hologram performance of Tupac raises questions into a new perspective of entertainment law. In what seemed like a novelty, holographic images of artists can potentially become commonplace in the world of entertainment. Billboard sat down with entertainment attorney Donald Passman to discuss how this could change the business of live performances. In summary he mentions that images of Tupac and other famous deceased musical icons can go on tour in many venues across the world, which begs the question: who owns the copyrighted image? Copyright owners may experience difficulty in deciding an appropriate figure to charge, but one thing is for certain: for the time being it won’t be cheap. Below is an excerpt from the discussion, and click here to read the full article by Billboard.

How much would it cost to use Tupac’s likeness for two songs at a Coachella performance? “Boy, I have no idea,” says Passman. “I guess if I represented him I would want a good sized fee for it because it’s an element of the show. And I could go anywhere from what I would charge as a live artist to show up as a guest down to what I would charge to do a lighting design.” But he admits arriving at a fee wouldn’t be easy. “There’s no precedent for it.”