idered. The grant of attorney's fees isreversed.REVERSED and REMANDED. 12368http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/newopinions.nsf/04485f8dcbd4e1ea882569520074e698/38e97db86b8c25c58825695800725cb9?OpenDocumentSupreme Court says Norm and Cliff can sue over robots October 2, 2000Web posted at: 10:43 AM EDT (1443 GMT)WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court refused to derail a lawsuit in which actors George Wendt and John Ratzenberger, who portrayed endearing barflies "Norm" and "Cliff" in the "Cheers" television comedy, say two robots stole their old act. The justices, acting without comment on Monday, rejected an appeal in which Paramount Pictures Corp. and Host International Inc. sought to squelch the right-of-publicity case. Paramount produced the popular "Cheers" show, which ran on network television from 1982 to 1993 and continues to run in syndication. Set in a friendly neighborhood bar in Boston -- the kind of place where "everybody knows your name" -- the show featured, among others, Wendt as the fat and often-unemployed Norm Peterson and Ratzenberger as nerdy mailman Cliff Clavin, the bar's know-it-all windbag. Paramount, which owns the copyright and trademark in "Cheers" and all its characters, granted Host International a license to set up bars in airports throughout the world using the same decor and theme as the TV show's tavern. The decor of several of the bars includes two life-size, robotic customers named "Hank" and "Bob" who are programmed to move and engage in humorous banter whenever customers sit close by. One of the robots is quite heavy; the other wears a Postal Service uniform. Wendt and Ratzenberger sued Host, contending that its use of the two robotic figures violated their rights of publicity. Linked to an individual's privacy rights, the right of publicity gives people exclusive control over the use of their likeness or voice for profit. A federal trial judge in California twice threw ou...
