Recently, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus has found himself in the midst of a complex legal battle to get his name, image, and likeness back after selling off said rights in a deal involving his old company.
In 2007, Nicklaus sold off a minority equity share of his company, Nicklaus Companies, to New York banker Howard Milstein in a $145 million deal that included giving Milstein rights to his personal name, image, and likeness.
This led to a number of legal consequences for Nicklaus once he decided to leave the company in 2022. He then argued in an arbitration claim that the company was trying to restrain him from commercial activity.
In July, a verdict in said case, which was obtained by Eriq Gardner of Puck News, stated that the company would maintain the rights to the personal social media account of Nicklaus as long as nothing defamatory was posted on the account.
According to Gardner, this situation has taken another wild turn of events, as Nicklaus Companies has now authorized an AI version of Nicklaus. On top of that, the company is claiming that Nicklaus is engaging in unfair competition for doing things like independently designing golf courses or making public appearances at events.
This is not the first instance of an A.I. version of Jack Nicklaus either. In 2022, an AI avatar of Nicklaus created by L.A.-based Soul Machines was actually created and featured in a Golf.com article.
The real Jack Nicklaus actually had input on the previous AI version of himself. But obviously, things have clearly changed when it comes to the relationship between Nicklaus and Howard Milstein.
Clearly, Nicklaus likely didn’t envision a world where his likeness could be replicated via an AI version of himself when he originally agreed to give up his rights.
Regardless, Nicklaus now finds himself in an ever-evolving online space without rights to his own likeness, which should be a warning to those who are similarly offered a deal for their likeness rights in the future. And unfortunately for Nicklaus, we have already seen throughout many of his legal proceedings against his former company that he has an uphill battle on his hands if he does attempt to due Milstein over this latest AI version.
