Photo taken from public Southern District of New York Documents
Call in the comedic relief, please! A photographer who took two pictures of comedienne Amy Schumer is suing for copyright infringement over Schumer’s use of the photo on her Instagram page to promote her clothing line. The photos depict Schumer with a baby stroller wearing a $30 sweatshirt from her label that says “Plus Size Brain.”
Paparazzi photographer Felipe Ramales is the owner of this image. He is demanding a jury trial and wants the star to pay his legal bills and $300,000 for both images Schumer and her limited liability corporation used. “Defendants did not license the photographs from plaintiff for its website, nor did defendants have plaintiff’s permission or consent to publish the photographs on its website,” the lawsuit reads.
Copyright law is not black nor white. Copyrights protect works of art like music, literary works, movies, photos, art, dance, and more. According to the Copyright.gov website, “A work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time; where a work is prepared over a period of time, the portion of it that has been fixed at any particular time constitutes the work as of that time, and where the work has been prepared in different versions, each version constitutes a separate work.” Although a subject or person may be depicted in the photo, the photographer is the true owner of the photo or work, and as such the subject should request a license to use the photo from the creator and to not run amok of copyright infringement.
Article by Carissa Chow