There are a number of defenses that can be raised when a claim is made that one's privacy has been violated. First and foremost, in most cases the plaintiff must be alive, because the purpose of protecting privacy is to prevent the disclosure of intimate and personal matters. Obviously, this cannot apply when the information revealed is about someone dead.

However, the time of the publication is critical when the defense raised is that the person is deceased. If the subject of the disclosure was alive when the information was revealed but died thereafter, the estate of the deceased can commence a lawsuit. Moreover, because the law of privacy varies from state to state, you need to be aware that the right to prevent photos used for commercial purposes as well as the right to publicity survives the death of the subject in some states.

When an allegation is made that one's privacy was violated by the publication of private and embarrassing facts or creating a false light, a defense can be raised that the information disclosed is not offensive to a reasonable person. Of course, this would have to be proven based upon the facts of the case. Another defense to a claim of privacy violation is that the information is of legitimate concern to the public or otherwise newsworthy. But bear in mind that a newsworthy defense requires that it be timely, so while the subject and information might have been newsworthy at one time, years later that may no longer be the case and publication of the information might not be protected by this defense.

A defense can also be made that the subject consented to the information being published. As in the case of libel law, it is wise to obtain the subject's consent and this should be secured by a written and signed release prepared by an attorney or furnished by your publisher.