Credit: Tiko/Adobe Stock Thanks to Trolls, Photo Copyright Lawsuits and Lawyers Face Reputational Hurdles
"Photographers are in this impossible position of being snobs about their work and not posting, to being labeled opportunists and copyright trolls because they take offense when people copy their image without getting paid," said David C. Deal, founder and principal attorney at The Law Office of David C. Deal in Charlottesville, Virginia. "At no point are we ever going to apologize for getting compensated for the work."
March 24, 2023 at 04:50 PM
8 minute read
A difference of three days was crucial to determining whether a financial planning office violated federal copyright law when it used a photograph from an Australian commercial photographer's Flickr website in a blog post.
The plaintiff, Alex Proimos, sued Marotta Wealth Management in May 2022 over an image of the Rotunda at the University of Virginia posted on Flickr.com between 2011 and 2013. Marotta used the photo in a blog post on Dec. 17, 2019, just prior to Proimos registering the photo with the U.S. Copyright Office Dec. 20, 2019, according to an order filed last month by U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon of the Western District of Virginia.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Litigation Trends to Watch From Law.com Radar: Suits Strike at DEI Policies, 'Meme Coins' and Infractions in Cannabis Labeling
4 minute read
Quiet Retirement Meets Resounding Win: Quinn Emanuel Name Partner Kathleen Sullivan's Vimeo Victory
Anthropic Agrees to 'Guardrails' for Its AI Training to Protect Copyrighted Lyrics Pending Fight Over Fair Use
5 minute readLaw Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Orrick Picks Up 13-Lawyer Tech, VC Group From Gunderson Dettmer
- 2How Alzheimer’s and Other Cognitive Diseases Affect Guardianship, POAs and Estate Planning
- 3How Lower Courts Are Interpreting Justices' Decision in 'Muldrow v. City of St. Louis'
- 4Phantom Income/Retained Earnings and the Potential for Inflated Support
- 5Should a Financially Dependent Child Who Rejects One Parent Still Be Emancipated?
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
