프로야구선수들이 갖는 퍼블리시티권의 법적 성격과 그 행사

The right of publicity has its meaning in protecting the commercial values, which has been created and added to one’s identity. In this position it can be said that the rights of publicity of pro‐sports players should be protected more strongly than those of any other ones. For the pro-sports players are trying to make their naming value with intended labors and investment, which is one of the primary justifications on the recognition of one’s own publicity as a right. Thus, it can not be a coincidence that it was the first time when the publicity had been approved as an independent right from the right of privacy by the second circuit in 1953, Haelan Laboratories, Inc.v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc, which cases were related to using the pictures of MLB players. Contrastingly, the right of publicity of Korean probaseball players has not been exactly appreciated and properly secured by Korean Baseball Organiztion, which consists of only probaseball team owers. So, in this essay the author attempts to provide suitable understanding on the Korean baseball players’ right of publicity and make a suggestion on how to exercise it according to the legal justice, by the anlaysis on the history of the class licensing of MLB players’ publicity right and the recent ‘CBC’ case in Missouri Eastern District Court and US Court of Appeals for the eighth circuit.