Fair use

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Fair use

Many people want to know if they can operate a fan site. Unfortunately, under the Right of Publicity Law, you cannot do so without permission because the celebrity has a right to control the use of his or her image. The artist sometimes known as Prince sent a number of cease and desist letters to Prince fan sites in November of 2007 claiming right of publicity violations and copyright infringement. The letters asked fan sites to remove all photographs, images, lyrics, album covers, and anything linked to Prince's likeness. After Prince received bad publicity, the parties entered into negotiations, which may still be ongoing.

It's unclear how things eventually shook out. But you can see that something as innocuous as operating a fan site can create real infringement risk. Living celebrities are not the only ones that can prevent fan clubs and fan sites from happening. Dead people have rights too. There was a fan page for a Facebook page called Marilyn and the Camera, which featured pictures and words of love from Marilyn.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/understanding-rights-of-publicity-a-deeper-dive/fair-use