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Gigi Hadidβs lawyers have taken an original stance in the ongoing copyright battle between celebrities and the paparazzi.
Celebs and the paparazzi have never had the most amicable relationship, despite the fact that their existences are symbiotic. Whilst celebrities often accuse photographers of privacy violations, members of the pap get their own back through lawsuits against celebs who deign to use photos taken by them on their personal accounts.
J-Lo, 50 Cent, Jessica Simpson, and Khloe Kardashian have all been party to lawsuits after pulling photos of themselves off the internet and posting them on their social media, taking a bite from the licensing fees that paparazzi and other agencies depend on for income.
Kardashian was sued in 2017 for copyright infringement after using a photographerβs image of her entering a Miami restaurant. Simpson was sued this January for posting a shot of herself leaving an NYC hotel on insta, with the photographer claiming that he had only licensed the photo for the Daily Mail. You get the picture (no pun intended).
Your face is my face
It seems completely counterintuitive to think that one may have less rights to their own likeness than someone who manages to capture it, however in these circumstances copyright law clearly favours the photographer. According to entertainment lawyer Bryan Sullivan, who spoke to Buzzfeed News regarding the issue, the subject of the photo doesnβt have any rights to the picture if it was taken in a public place.
The penalties for a βwilful infringementβ of copyright law can be steep – $150,000 for each violation. Photographers can also sue for loss of profit and legal fees.
In the past legal teams of celebs have argued that a photographer is benefitting off their clientβs likeness, thereby rendering any argument about the legality of profiting from other peopleβs work void. Moreover, they’ve argued that celebrities don’t directly profit from photos on their social medias. However, most just take the easy way out and settle out of court.
Gigi fights back
Not so Gigi Hadid. In January of this year a copyright infringement lawsuit was filed against her by agency Xclusive-Lee, alleging that Hadid posted one of its images to her Instagram in violation of the companyβs copyright policy. In a motion to dismiss filed earlier this June, Hadidβs legal team came up with the original counterargument that Gigi contributed to the composition of the photo through her outfit and her pose, thus her posting the image constituted fair use.
The memorandum of support says Hadid didnβt infringe on any copyright βbecause Ms Hadid posed for the camera and thus herself contributed many of the elements that the copyright law seeks to protect.β She, the memorandum claims, creatively directed the picture, not the photographer who captured it. To paraphrase, your photo would be nothing with Gigi Hadid, so you wonβt be getting any money, honey.
