Infringement Suit Over 'Rastafarian' Photo Clears Hurdle
A Manhattan judge has extinguished a motion by a well-known "appropriation artist" to dismiss an infringement lawsuit filed against him by a photographer who says his photo “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint” was bogarted for one of the artist's works without permission.
July 18, 2017 at 04:03 PM
2 minute read
A Manhattan judge has extinguished a motion by a well-known “appropriation artist” to dismiss an infringement lawsuit filed against him by a photographer who says his photo “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint” was bogarted for one of the artist's works without permission.
Plaintiff Donald Graham said he took the photo during a 1996 trip to Jamaica, that it was first published in August 1998 and that he registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office on Oct. 20, 2014.
The photo was registered after an Instagram account posted a slightly cropped version of the photo on the social media platform.
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