Social Media Site for Academics Hit With Class Publicity Suit

Academia Inc. faces a class lawsuit in federal court alleging it violated academics’ right of publicity by using their names and identities without consent to promote Academia’s paid subscription service.

Rajbir Singh Judge alleged that Academia operates a website, Academia.edu, that allows academics to create profiles and share research. Academia allegedly uses the identities of academics in marketing emails and website pages to induce non-paying users to purchase premium subscriptions.

The complaint, filed July 11 in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, asserts violations of the right of publicity statutes in Alabama, California, Hawaii, Illinois, Nevada, ...