You walked along the street, and filming was carried out nearby. Or perhaps a correspondent jumped up to you and asked you to answer a few questions in front of the microphone and camera. A month later, you saw yourself in a commercial, although you did not give consent and did not receive a fee. What to do?
Instruction manual
1
Do not sue the TV channel where you saw the commercial, and not the advertising agency that produced it, but the advertiser the company that sells the advertised product or provides the advertised service. It is the advertiser who is responsible for the content of his advertisement.
2
If your face just flashed in the advertisement, and you didn’t have to play a role in front of the camera, give an interview or just say something, try to hold the advertiser accountable under article 152.1 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. It states that the use of the image of a citizen without his consent is allowed only if it is "carried out in state, public or other public interests", or if "the citizen posed for a fee." Please note, however, that if you walked past the place of shooting and you were shown standing in the crowd, then your image is shown legitimately, because if it is "obtained when shooting, which is carried out in places open for free visits, or at public events, " then it can also be used without permission. But if you were shown close-up, then the last rule ceases to apply, since in this case the image "is the main object of use", and your permission is necessary. Under article 152.1 of the Civil Code, an advertiser can only be held civilly liable, since administrative and criminal liability for the misuse of a citizen’s image is not provided.
3
If you spoke in front of a microphone and a camera, doing what the director said, answering questions or delivering a pre-prepared speech, you have the right to performance, which is a kind of related right. If you wish, try to bring the advertiser to one of three types of liability: civil law, administrative (article 7.12 of the Code of Administrative Offenses) or criminal (article 146 of the Criminal Code). The third type of liability occurs only if the damage caused to you has exceeded 50 thousand rubles (and after the adoption of article 146 in the new edition, this bar will increase to 250 thousand rubles).
4
Do not sign any papers after filming without reading them. Perhaps this is the very agreement that, according to the rules in force since 2008, provides for the payment of remuneration to you only if it “does not specify otherwise”. After you sign the contract, which provides for your free participation in the filming, you can no longer sue the advertiser.
5
Please note that if you decide to start a civil case, in case of your loss, you will be forced to pay legal costs. Therefore, do not try to bring the advertiser to civil liability without the full confidence that you can win the court. In all cases, before suing the advertiser, first try to negotiate with him out of court - perhaps he will agree to remove your image or performance from advertising or enter into a reimbursable contract with you. Also consider whether you should try to deal with the advertiser in general. Perhaps it is better to be glad that the whole country saw you? In addition, if in the future you want to shoot somewhere, you can indicate in the questionnaire that you already have experience in filming.
