Comedian Offended by "Bathroom Humor"

Decision 4 - YOU ARE RIGHT!

In -Carson v. Here's Johnny Portable Toilets, Inc. (6th Cir. 1983), 698 F.2d 831, the Court of Appeals held that the District Court's conception of the misappropriation of a celebrity's name was defined too narrowly. The Court of Appeals held that Johnny Carson's name was commercially exploited simply by the use of a phrase that readily identified him. The phrase "Here's Johnny" was so endemic to Johnny Carson's stage persona, that the use of the phrase, "Here's Johnny, The World's Foremost Commodian," in connection with the sale of portable toilets unlawfully exploited Johnny Carson's identify.

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