§ 51. Action for injunction and for damages. Any person whose name,
portrait, picture, likeness or voice is used within this state for
advertising purposes or for the purposes of trade without the written
consent first obtained as above provided may maintain an equitable
action in the supreme court of this state against the person, firm or
corporation so using such person's name, portrait, picture, likeness or
voice, to prevent and restrain the use thereof; and may also sue and
recover damages for any injuries sustained by reason of such use and if
the defendant shall have knowingly used such person's name, portrait,
picture, likeness or voice in such manner as is forbidden or declared to
be unlawful by section fifty of this article, the jury, in its
discretion, may award exemplary damages. But nothing contained in this
article shall be so construed as to prevent any person, firm or
corporation from selling or otherwise transferring any material
containing such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice in whatever
medium to any user of such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice,
or to any third party for sale or transfer directly or indirectly to
such a user, for use in a manner lawful under this article; nothing
contained in this article shall be so construed as to prevent any
person, firm or corporation, practicing the profession of photography,
from exhibiting in or about their establishment specimens of the work of
such establishment, unless the same is continued by such person, firm or
corporation after written notice objecting thereto has been given by the
person portrayed; and nothing contained in this article shall be so
construed as to prevent any person, firm or corporation from using the
name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice of any manufacturer or dealer
in connection with the goods, wares and merchandise manufactured,
produced or dealt in by such manufacturer or dealer which they have sold
or disposed of with such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice used
in connection therewith; or from using the name, portrait, picture,
likeness or voice of any author, composer or artist in connection with
their literary, musical or artistic productions which they have sold or
disposed of with such name, portrait, picture, likeness or voice used in
connection therewith. Nothing contained in this section shall be
construed to prohibit the copyright owner of a sound recording from
disposing of, dealing in, licensing or selling that sound recording to
any party, if the right to dispose of, deal in, license or sell such
sound recording has been conferred by contract or other written document
by such living person or the holder of such right. Nothing contained in
the foregoing sentence shall be deemed to abrogate or otherwise limit
any rights or remedies otherwise conferred by federal law or state law.