This time the New York garment company who had previously engaged in publicity stunts went too far — they broadcast their poor grasp of legal literacy when they used a photo of a sitting president of the United States in a Times Square billboard ad to hawk their men’s outerwear.   

Sure, they contacted the AP photographer who took the photo of President Obama during his visit to the Great Wall of China inBadaling.  But according to the Associated Press, licensing the photo still requires obtaining the necessary clearances – in this case getting a model release from the President.  (To read the NY Times version of the story click here, the Washington Post version includes a picture of the billboard from a different angle.)

Pleading ignorance of the law, the garmet maker president said:

Is it a calculated risk?  Not being an attorney — I’m being, really, a designer, merchandiser guy in the apparel business — I would leave that to attorneys or whatever. 

Hmmm, a calculated risk.  Sure. 

Maybe they should take a hint from  Seinfeld’s George Costanza who discovered the hard way why not knowing right from wrong is more than a calculated risk.   

Ignorance of the law is a losing defense, so is saying the ad was placed in “good faith.”  You’d think that since Women’s Wear Daily, The New York Times, and the New York Post all refused to run a similar ad the company might want to know why.  But apparantly they’d rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission.

Using someone’s photo in a commerical context implicates their right of publicity.  It requires some kind of basic a model release. 

A little bit of Legal Literacy can go a long way.