The Appellate Court of Illinois recently denied a motion to dismiss filed by the online stock photo company Corbis, effectively preserving claims that Corbis violated Jame's Browns right of publicity by offereing to license photos of the the late singer.  The decision is here.  The case is interesting, because presumably there would be some uses of the photos that would not violate Brown's right of publicity, for fair use or first amendment reasons. Corbis would presumably license the photos to anyone who would pay the fee, and note that the photo comes without a publicity release, leaving it up to the licensee to use the photo in a lawful manner.  Nonetheless, the court is willing to entertain the claim that Corbis, by offering to license the photos, is thereby engaging in some commercial activity for which it may need the permission or consent of The Godfather of Soul.  Internet Cases has a good summary of the case.