{"id":33156,"date":"2022-06-02T04:48:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T04:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/elvis-impersonators-banned-in-vegas-wedding-chapels-after-licensing-dispute-over-the-kings-likeness\/"},"modified":"2022-06-02T04:48:04","modified_gmt":"2022-06-02T04:48:04","slug":"elvis-impersonators-banned-in-vegas-wedding-chapels-after-licensing-dispute-over-the-kings-likeness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/elvis-impersonators-banned-in-vegas-wedding-chapels-after-licensing-dispute-over-the-kings-likeness\/","title":{"rendered":"Elvis impersonators BANNED in Vegas wedding chapels after licensing dispute over The King’s likeness"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Las Vegas wedding chapels have been ordered to stop using Elvis Presley’s likeness by the company that controls his image – in a move which many say will decimate their business.<\/p>\n

Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels, which are expected to be compliant by now.<\/p>\n

With Elvis so closely tied to Vegas’ wedding industry, some say the move could decimate their businesses.<\/p>\n

‘We are a family-run business, and now we’re hanging with the big dogs,’ said Kayla Collins, who operates LasVegasElvisWeddingChapel.com and the Little Chapel of Hearts with her husband. <\/p>\n

‘That’s our bread and butter. I don’t get it. We were just hitting our stride again through COVID, then this happens. ‘<\/p>\n

The Vegas Wedding Chamber said: ‘It is especially concerning that Las Vegas chapels and impersonators are being targeted as so many people’s livelihood depends on these weddings using his image.’ <\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n

An Elvis impersonator is pictured at the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas. All venues promoting Elvis have been ordered by the company that controls his likeness of him to stop<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Elvis-themed <\/div>\n

Elvis-themed weddings are a large part of the Las Vegas marriage industry<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Elvis <\/div>\n

Elvis impersonator Brendan Paul, right, walks down the aisle during a wedding ceremony for Katie Salvatore, center, and Eric Wheeler at the Graceland Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. Authentic Brands Group (ABG) sent cease-and-desist letters earlier this month to multiple chapels, saying they had to comply by the end of May<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Elvis <\/div>\n

Elvis impersonator Charles King sings on May 12, 2020 as he marries Alicia Funk, center right, and Vaughan Chambers at A Little Wedding Chapel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Clark County Clerk Lynn Goya, who led a marketing campaign promoting Las Vegas as a wedding destination, said the order for chapels to stop using Elvis couldn’t have come at a worse time for the sector.<\/p>\n

The city’s wedding industry generates $ 2 billion a year, and officials say Elvis-themed weddings represent a significant number of the ceremonies performed.<\/p>\n

‘It might destroy a portion of our wedding industry. A number of people might lose their livelihood, ‘Goya said.<\/p>\n

One chapel last weekend had its Elvis impersonator change instead into a leather jacket, jeans and a fedora for a ‘rock’n’roll’ themed ceremony, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.<\/p>\n

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\"The <\/div>\n

The wedding industry in Vegas generates $ 2 billion a year, officials say – with a large percentage coming from Elvis-themed ceremonies<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"An <\/div>\n

An Elvis impersonator sings as a couple leave the Graceland Wedding Chapel<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Those <\/div>\n

Those who make their living as Elvis impersonators in Vegas have been angered by the announcement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Graceland Wedding Chapel, which performs 6,400 Elvis-themed weddings per year, has not been served a warning yet, according to manager Rod Musum.<\/p>\n

The licensing company oversees the estates of big names like movie star Marilyn Monroe and boxer Muhammad Ali and 50 consumer brands.<\/p>\n

In the cease-and-desist letter, the company said it will halt unauthorized use of ‘Presley’s name, likeness, voice image, and other elements of Elvis Presley’s persona in advertisements, merchandise and otherwise.’ <\/p>\n

The letter also said ‘Elvis,’ ‘Elvis Presley,’ ‘and’ The King of Rock and Roll ‘are protected trademarks.<\/p>\n

The order should not translate into legal action against Elvis-themed stage shows in Las Vegas such as ‘All Shook Up’ because impersonating someone for a live performances like shows is considered an exception under Nevada’s right of publicity law, according to Mark Tratos, a local attorney who helped write the statute.<\/p>\n

‘An Elvis show is a performer essentially entertaining others by re-creating that person onstage,’ Tratos said.<\/p>\n

Kent Ripley, whose business is called Elvis Weddings, said he has never run into this issue in 25 years of performing as Elvis.<\/p>\n

‘They want to protect the Elvis brand. But what are they protecting by taking Elvis away from the public? ‘ Ripley asked.<\/p>\n

Jesse Garon, a full time Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas for more than 30 years, said he was devastated by the move. <\/p>\n

‘You would see one more person in the unemployment line,’ Garon told 8 News Now. <\/p>\n

‘I have the best job in the world. We marry people and are part of their best day of their life. ‘<\/p>\n

Event planners say they are readying to take legal action. <\/p>\n

‘We have started a legal process to see what we can do,’ said Melody Willis-Williams, president of Vegas Weddings.<\/p>\n

She told 8 News Now: ‘It’s my hope to join the chapels together and be a united front for this because i know how important this is for them as well.’<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas wedding chapels have been ordered to stop using Elvis Presley’s likeness by the company that controls his image – in a move which many say will decimate their business. Authentic Brands Group sent cease-and-desist letters in early May to multiple chapels, which are expected to be compliant by now. With Elvis so closely …<\/p>\n

Elvis impersonators BANNED in Vegas wedding chapels after licensing dispute over The King’s likeness<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[10],"tags":[287,146],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2022\/06\/01\/06\/58532403-10872855-An_Elvis_impersonator_is_pictured_at_the_Graceland_Chapel_in_Las-a-81_1654060289169.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33156"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33156\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/harchi90.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}