At what point does a dead person&#39;s image enter the public domain?
<p>Apparently the Ronald Reagan Institute claims to own Ronald Reagan's image and <a href="https://www.chron.com/news/article/RNC-Trump-campaign-told-to-stop-using-President-15434408.php" rel="nofollow noreferrer">claims the ability to prevent the use of his image for commercial gain</a>.</p>
<p>I am pretty sure I am allowed to sell pictures of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy for profit. But I can't sell images of Ronald Reagan for profit?</p>
<p>At what point does a person's image enter the public domain?</p>

<h2>In California, <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_rights" rel="nofollow noreferrer">70 years</a></h2>
<p>This is statutorily determined by the <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Celebrities_Rights_Act" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Celebrities Rights Act</a> passed in 1985. Before that, such rights were not inheritable following <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugosi_v._Universal_Pictures" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lugosi v Universal Pictures</a>.</p>
<p>California law applies because Reagan was a California resident at the time of his death.</p>

united-states intellectual-property