IP Law Daily, PUBLICITY RIGHTS NEWS: Flight school accused of misappropriating training instructor’s likeness in certification program, (May 14, 2024)

By Cheryl Beise, J.D.

A rogue individual filmed the instructor when he was demonstrating airplane training in Singapore.

Captain Lou Nemeth, a renowned flight instructor involved in pilot training programs in Canada, the United States, and abroad, has accused the nation’s largest flight training company, Flight Academy, LLC dba ATP Flight School (ATP), of misappropriating his likeness without his consent to advertise, sell, or solicit purchases of its certification training program. The complaint alleges that Nemeth’s demonstration of CAE, Inc.’s airplane upset and recovery training in Singapore was intentionally used in ATP’s certification program (Nemeth v. ATP Flight Academy, LLC, No. 2:24-cv-03950-SPG-AS (C.D. Cal. May 10, 2024)).

Captain Lou Nemeth worked at US Airways for 27 years as a captain, pilot training manager, and instructor pilot. Currently, he serves as the Director of Flight Operations, Chief Pilot, and Pilot Instructor at CAE Inc. CAE, founded in the 1950s as Canadian Aviation Electronics Ltd., specializes in pilot training for civil aviation, defense, and security industries. Nemeth represents CAE as a speaker at global aviation forums. He has served as a board member and advisor to institutions such as Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Council of Aviation Accreditation. Nemeth serves on and often leads committees on behalf of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the Royal Aeronautical Society, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In 2014, ICAO generated ICAO Doc 10011—the Manual on Aeroplane Upset Prevention and Recovery Training.

According to the complaint, Nemeth traveled to Singapore to demonstrate to regulators there Upset Prevention and Recovery Training when “a rogue individual filmed the demonstration and distributed it online.” The complaint alleges that this demonstration has served as the basis for at least three days of ATP’s certification training program, which is available online and in person. Founded in 1984, ATP is the largest flight training company in the Unites States, providing over 12,000 pilot certifications annually at 77 flight training centers nationwide.

The complaint alleges that ATP has gained a commercial benefit by using Nemeth’s likeness and causing confusion as to Mr. Nemeth’s affiliation with ATP. According to the complaint, ATP acted with “with full knowledge of Mr. Nemeth’s rights and with the intent to misappropriate such rights to benefit from his goodwill, reputation and authority. ATP’s wrongful conduct is therefore deliberate, willful, fraudulent, without any mitigating circumstances, and constitutes a knowing use of Mr. Nemeth’s likeness.”

Nemeth sued ATP and ten unknown Doe defendants. The complaint asserts claims for false association in violation of Section 43(a)(1)(A) of the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C § 1125 (a)(1)(A), misappropriation of likeness in violation of California common law and California Civil Code § 3344. It seeks injunctive relief, statutory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees and costs, and pre- and post-judgment interest. Although Nemeth and ATP’s members reside of Florida, the complaint states that jurisdiction is proper in the Central District of California because a substantial part of the events giving rise to the claims occurred there.

The Case is No. 2:24-cv-03950-SPG-AS.

Judge: Garnett, S.

Attorneys: Joshua Heath Escovedo (Buchalter, A Professional Corporation) for Lou Nemeth.

Companies: ATP Flight Academy, LLC

News: PublicityRights CaliforniaNews