[natalie]

want to use a likeness of someone who has past away on an article of clothing. There is an estate who has the rights to his likeness. I want to give away this article of clothing to 25 powerful people who can market my clothing line. There will be no exhange of currency at all. They wear the clothes and I in turn reap the rewards of promotion. If there is no money exchanged, can I still be sued?
Thanks
Natalie

[Dana]

I would think that answer is 'probably'.
I know that certain things have a period of time after the person is deceased before it becomes public property but I'm not sure about celebrity likenesses.
I'd play it safe and contact the estate trustee.

[alex]

This isn't meant as legal advice, so I would suggest you consult with an attorney. From my understanding (my lawyer made me include this passage), unless you are using the likeness for a not-for-profit situation, you are still required to provide the original owners compensation. Even though you are not directly profiting, you are in fact adding long term value.

I would be more concerned which big and powerful people you are going to get to wear an elvis t-shirt on CNN ;)