Friger Salgueiro v. Mech-Tech College, LLC Y Otros

Summary

The Supreme Court of Puerto Rico held that the right of publicity (commercial aspect of the right of one's own image) is transferable only by written agreement or intestate succession, regardless of the employment or contractual relationship. Because Friger Salgueiro never executed a written transfer, he remained the holder of the commercial rights in his image and could withdraw consent at any time; Mech-Tech's continued use of his image after his October 5, 2018 cease-and-desist letter violated the Ley de Propia Imagen. The Court reversed the Court of Appeals, which had vacated the judgment for failure to prove the number of uses, and modified the trial court's judgment to confirm the $20,000 statutory damages (maximum for one violation) and $4,000 in attorney's fees.