De Havilland v. FX Networks, LLC

*630 *849 Authors write books. Filmmakers make films. Playwrights craft plays. And television writers, directors, and producers create television *850 shows and put them on the air-or, in these modern times, online. The First Amendment protects these expressive works and the free speech rights of their creators. Some of these works are fiction. Some are factual. And some are a combination of fact and fiction. That these creative works generate income for their creators does not diminish their constitutional protection. The First Amendment does not require authors, filmmakers, playwrights, and television producers to provide their creations to the public at no charge.

Books, films, plays, and television shows often portray real people. Some are famous and some are just ordinary folks. Whether a person portrayed in one of these expressive works is a world-renowned film star-"a living legend"-or a person no one knows, she or he does not own history. Nor does she or he have the legal right to control, dictate, approve, disapprove, or veto the creator's portrayal of actual people.

In this case, actress Olivia de Havilland sues FX Networks, LLC and Pacific 2.1 Entertainment Group,…