Apparently Carol Burnett doesn’t hold to that maxim; she’s suing the producers of the Fox cartoon Family Guy for $2 million for copyright infringement and violations of her right of publicity over an 18-second cartoon clip parodying her. Ron Coleman of Likelihood of Confusion has details.

Fox could have some trouble, particularly with the second claim; California’s right of publicity law, as interpreted by the Ninth Circuit, is extremely broad. Judge Alex Kozinski’s famous dissenting opinion explained the problem in a case filed by Vanna White against Samsung about an advertisement featuring a robot wearing a blond wig. Although this case doesn’t present the exact same issues as the Vanna White case — the Family Guy cartoon actually used Burnett’s name — it does point out the flaws in the Ninth Circuit’s approach, and illustrates how their interpretation is an invitation to celebrities to litigate.

Filed under: Alex Kozinski, copyright