There's this guy whom lost a bet on the super bowl and now he has to legally change his name to Peyton Manning. But he has to go infront of a judge to see if he can. Anyways, will the court let this guy? I mean Will a judge let someone change their name to a famous persons name?
2007-02-09 10:06:08 · 7 answers · asked by ♥Brown Eyed Girl ♥ 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
IANAL but...
My guess - the request has to be reasonable. As long as fraud is not involved, I don't see why not. It's not like
(a) there are no people with the same name as Bob Hope, or Richard Branson, Tommy Lee Jones/Tom Jones, or Ronald McDonald.
(b) If it were George W. Bush or something like that I would imagine the disrespect issue would come into play.
(c) It has to be reasonable; petitions to change a name to a number, or a symbol like Prince did (speaking of Superbowl) failed.
(d) Judges do have some discretion, and if he thinks the reason is frivolous, he may or may not deny the petition. Depends which team the judge supports.
2007-02-09 10:17:55 · answer #1 · answered by Anon 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
How could anyone legally stop him? Lots of people have the same name. There is no law that says you cannot do it, so why not? It's stupid, but stupidity has nothing to do with it legally. A guy legally changed his name to God awhile back. Peyton Manning is definitely fair game.
That said, the real Peyton Manning could sue him if the guy tried to misuse the name to make a buck. It would likely still be identity theft in that case.
2007-02-09 18:14:11 · answer #2 · answered by Mr. Taco 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why not. As long as he doesn't inted to use the name or association with the real Payton Manning to make money or cause harm. Of course once he learns how expensive it is to change his name and that he has to publish it in a local paper or face fines and dissolution of the name change he might back out of this bet.
2007-02-09 18:14:21 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why not? The name does not have a patent on it, or copyrighted where no one else can use the name.
2007-02-09 18:15:20 · answer #4 · answered by Gary S 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I heard about that..
Yeah they would a famous person was a regular person before they got famous.
2007-02-09 18:14:42 · answer #5 · answered by luke 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably. There is no copyright or trademark on the guy's name, so anyone can have it.
2007-02-09 18:21:53 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
judge will allow
2007-02-10 00:41:32 · answer #7 · answered by john 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋