Hat Tip: SLR Lounge
Celebrity Photographer Bonnie Schiffman has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Rod Stewart seeking $2.5 Million in damages.
Stewart wanted to use one of the photographs the Schiffman had taken of him for a billboard ad, and offered to pay Schiffman to license the photo. Schiffman refused the amount offered. (Apparently wanting more money)
Stewart then had a photo taken by another photographer and used that photo in the ad.
The Problem?
The photo basically recreated the original photograph and Schiffman is suing based on "substantial similarity."
She'll probably win the lawsuit, but I doubt she'll get anything near the $2.5 Million she's asking. She may not even get enough to cover her legal fees.
Personally, I suspect the problem may stem from an Schiffman placing an unreasonable valuation on the image in question. She apparently turned down $1,500 for the image being used on a single billboard, and the only reason I can see fo Stewart taking the actions he took is if Schiffman's counter-offer was unreasonably high.
The only reason I can see Stewart risking a potential copyright lawsuit is if the amount being asked by Schiffman dwarfed the legal fees and penalties he would face if he lost a lawsuit.
Otherwise, he would have just paid the licensing fee being asked by Schiffman.
Granted, this is speculation on my part. Schiffman may have acted in a completely reasonable manner and have been willing to license the image at a reasonable price. But I can't see this happening if that was the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment