Judge Sidelines Lawsuit Against NFL, Photo Agencies
In a win for defense teams at Skadden, DLA Piper and Weil Gotshal, a judge in New York tossed copyright and antitrust claims against the NFL, the Associated Press and Getty Images.
March 31, 2015 at 11:43 AM
3 minute read
About 18 months after a group of photographers accused the National Football League, the Associated Press and Getty Images of ripping off their work, a judge in Manhattan has tossed the plaintiffs' copyright and antitrust claims.
In an opinion made public on Monday, U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan threw out claims against the NFL and the photo agencies brought by seven freelancers who make at least part of their living photographing NFL events, and whose images were licensed to Getty and AP. The decision, first issued under seal, dismisses copyright claims and allegations that the NFL used its clout to thwart competition for commercial licenses on NFL-related stock photographs.
The National Football League and its 32 member teams are represented by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom antitrust partners Jeffrey Mishkin and Karen Hoffman Lent, along with IP partner Anthony Dreyer. The AP is represented by a team at DLA Piper led by Andrew Deutsch. Getty turned to a defense team at Weil, Gotshal & Manges led by Bruce Meyer.
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