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In recent years, any Swede who bought a bottle of Calvin Klein Encounter cologne was probably greeted by the piercing gaze of an American actor.
Ditto for anyone who has bought certain brands of makeup in Uruguay, electric razors in China, or knee-length ponchos in Europe.
Something in the man’s familiar face has enchanted product makers around the world, who have chosen his stock image from millions to appear on their packaging. But the man in the photo, BJ Novak, a 42-year-old actor best known for his role in “The Office,” didn’t choose to be the face of the perfume, face paint or ponchos.
Someone else chose her photo and then uploaded it “years ago” to a website where Mr. Novak believes it has become part of the public domain, he said on Instagram on Monday. It was not possible to determine who took the original photo.
Although he has had other projects in film and television including “The Premise,†the FX anthology series on Hulu, he is best known for the character of Ryan Howard, who rose from a very abused temp at a corporate executive for fiction. Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Off-camera, Mr. Novak was a screenwriter, director and executive producer for the NBC hit nine-season sitcom, based on the British series of the same name.
Mr. Novak seemed to take his archival photo fame with good humor. On Instagram, where he posted photos of himself on various product packaging, he saved the images in a collection he called “modeling.” He could not be reached for further comment through his representatives.
Mr. Novak is in good company, as archival photos like “Hide the Pain Harold‘And’ distracted boyfriend ‘have been used and reused around the world.
Actor Simu Liu has often joked around the time he modeled for stock images in 2014. He said he was paid $ 120 to take the photos, which have since appeared in everything from manuals To YMCA leaflets. “This archival photo shoot always finds a way to come back and haunt me LOL,†Mr. Liu said on Twitter in 2018.
Most likely, Mr. Novak did not make any money from the use of his photo. The rights to a photo usually belong to the person who took the photo, unless they have been assigned in some way. The history of this image could not be determined.
But Marc Misthal, senior attorney at Gottlieb, Rackman & Reisman, a New York law firm, said that at least in the United States, Mr Novak has a number of possible legal options to pursue – s’ he wishes it.
His lawyer can send cease and desist letters to companies that have used his image, or he can escalate the case by suing the companies, said copyright and trademark specialist Mr Misthal.
However, Mr Misthal said he believed the actor was more likely to sue companies that made money from the photo than the person who uploaded the photo to a public domain website.
“It’s really the fact that their face or their image is associated with a particular product, because they use their image to attract customers and make money,†Mr. Misthal said.
But, if Mr Novak’s Instagram post on Monday is any indication, he has no plans to take legal action against anyone.
“I’m too amused to do anything about it,†he wrote.
He has known his double life as a “model” since at least 2014, when he posted a photo on Instagram of her photo on cans of cologne, showing five pairs of her eyeballs staring at Swedish shoppers.
He joked at the time: “I am blessed to announce the launch of my perfume, available now at a Swedish department store.”
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