Ancestry.com Sued Over Use of Student, Teacher Likenesses in Ads

Ancestry.com is illegally using the names and personas of California students and teachers to promote paid subscriptions to its website without their consent, according to a new proposed class action.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in the US District Court for the Central District of California, alleges that the genealogy company has used the names and likenesses of “private individuals who have no relationship with Ancestry” to promote the company through at least three different advertising techniques.

The company misappropriated names and likenesses, violated California’s Unfair Competition Law and its right of publicity statute, and violated the plaintiffs’ intellectual property and ...