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US Copyright Office weighs in on the Warhol/Goldsmith Prince “fair use” photo saga

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It’s like this case is never going to end, although it’s scheduled to do exactly that in October of this year when the Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case is going to be heard by the US Supreme Court. At least, we hope that’ll be the end. Whatever the outcome, it’ll have a far-reaching impact on how fair use applies in copyright today.

The United States Copyright Office themselves have now weighed in on the case by submitting an amicus brief ahead of the hearing backing up the beliefs of others that the “inspiration” does not fall under fair use and is in fact copyright infringement.

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Chi Modu estate sues Universal Music Group for using a 2Pac photo without permission

Chi Modu captured some of the most iconic photos of the 1990s hip-hop stars. The late photographer’s estate recently got in another legal battle, this time against Universal Music Group (UMG).

UMG allegedly used one of Modu’s iconic images of Tupac Shakur in a 2019 blog post. The estate claims that the copyright info was removed and they’re now suing UMG for copyright infringement.

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Singer Dua Lipa sued for sharing a paparazzi photo on her Instagram… Again

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After so many cases of celebrities being sued for sharing photos without permission, you’d think at least some of them would learn a lesson. But I guess that’s not the case. After already ending up in court for sharing a photo of herself, singer Dua Lipa has done it again.

The British singer shared a photo on Instagram without licensing it or asking the photographer for permission. In return, the photographer filed a copyright infringement lawsuit. And while this is not the first time for Dua Lipa, this photographer also fought legal battles over the same issue before.

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Notorious BIG estate thinks “parasite” photographers shouldn’t sell their photos of celebrities

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Biggie Smalls estate (Notorious B.I.G., LLC) has filed a lawsuit against the wife of the famous hip hop photographer Chi Modu. According to Biggie’s estate, the late photographer’s wife should stop selling merchandise with the famous rapper photos. They claim it violates their right to publicity, even calling Chi Modu “a parasite.”

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“Copyright troll” sues student newspaper after using Creative Commons photo

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There’s a joke saying that the most common lie in the world is “I have read and understood Terms and Conditions.” Well, misunderstanding terms and conditions could cost a student newspaper team thousands of dollars.

A student media group reportedly used a photo from a popular Creative Commons website to illustrate their article. However, the photographer who took the image claims it was copyright infringement and is suing the newspaper for over $5,000.

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Judge rules in favor of Pinterest after photographer sues them for copyright infringement

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Pinterest is a place where we can find inspiration for all kinds of creative endeavors. For me, it’s usually seeing the picture, then clicking on it to read the article behind it and learn something new I can apply to my creative work.

However, a photographer from Princeton, New Jersey sued Pinterest over those photos pinned on people’s boards. He claimed that Pinterest shared over 50 of his photos without permission and sued them for copyright infringement. But the judge disagreed and ruled in favor of Pinterest in this unusual case.

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RED sues Nikon for infringement on video compression patent

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High-end video camera brand RED is suing Nikon for illegally copying their video compression patent. Nikon introduced the system in their new firmware 2.0 update for the Z9 mirrorless camera. With the 2.0 update, the Z9 can capture 8.3K RAW video at up to 60 frames per second in Nikon’s new “N-RAW format” or up to 4.1K at 60 frames per second ProRes RAW HQ.

The lawsuit was filed in a southern California federal court and asserts that the Japanese camera manufacturer and its United States subsidiaries have illegally infringed on seven patents that deal with “a video camera that can be configured to highly compress video data in a visually lossless manner.”

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Snoop Dogg proclaims “m********ing photographers” shouldn’t own celebrity photos they take

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There are some celebrities who think that photos of them belong to them and that they can use them however they want. As you know, this isn’t the case. So, many celebrities also got sued by photographers after posting their photos without permission.

Rapper Nas has recently joined the club after a photographer sued him for sharing his photo. And it got his colleague Snoop Dogg so mad that he posted a video claiming that *beeeep* photographers shouldn’t own their own photos.

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Future Croatian Euro coin based on a stolen photo, photographer claims

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In an ideal world, anyone in the creative business knows that you can’t just rip off someone’s work, edit it a bit, and present it as your own. But this is not an ideal world, as Scottish photographer Iain H. Leach recently experienced. He claims that a Croatian designer stole his photo to design a future Croatian Euro coin – and he even won a massive monetary prize for it.

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Russian movie accused of stealing “Human Christmas Tree” photo idea for its marketing poster

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We see almost daily reports of photographers having their work stolen and reproduced elsewhere without permission and against their wishes. But it’s not often that we see an entire concept allegedly ripped off quite so blatantly. I have to say allegedly, but to anybody with eyes and a brain, it seems like a foregone conclusion.

The original photo in question was shot by Norwegian photographer Stig Håvard Dirdal in 2015. It’s reported to have been stolen and reposted around the web so often that Dirdal ultimately registered it with the US Copyright office in 2018 to be able to do more about further infractions. But now, another photographer’s interpretation of it appears to be the main marketing image for Russian movie “Yolki 8”.

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