• Home
  • About Us
  • Meet The Team
  • Practice Areas
    • Defamation Law
    • Internet Law
    • Corporate Law
    • Ecommerce Law
    • Advertising Law
    • Social Media Law
  • Internet Law Blog
  • Contact Us

Call Toll Free 1-866-570-8585

Find An Office Near You
Speak With an Internet Lawyer Now
RM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law FirmRM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law Firm
RM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law FirmRM Warner Law | Online, Marketing, Internet Business Law Firm
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Meet The Team
  • Practice Areas
    • Defamation Law
    • Internet Law
    • Corporate Law
    • Ecommerce Law
    • Advertising Law
    • Social Media Law
  • Internet Law Blog
  • Contact Us
large number of press and paparazzi in broadcasting event | RM Warner Inernet Law Firm

Ariana Grande Paparazzi Lawsuit: Should Celebrities Have The Right to Post Photos of Themselves Without Permission?

May 27, 2019 Posted by Daniel Warner Intellectual Property, Social Media Law No Comments

Ariana Grande is the latest celebrity being sued by a paparazzi photographer for posting photos of herself on Instagram. It seems crazy that someone can sue her for posting a picture taken of herself. However, the copyright law protects the work of photographers just like it protects works of art.

Ariana Grande’s Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

According to BuzzFeed News, the photos Grande posted were taken by Robert Barbera last year as Grande was walking out of a building in New York carrying a bag that read “Sweetener”, the title of her latest album at the time.

On August 17th, Grande posted the photos on the day her album Sweetener was released, captioning it, “Happy sweetener day”. You could consider this post as a way for Grande to promote her album, and it most likely was. However, since Grande did not have authorization from Barbera to post these photos, her Instagram post has turned from an album promotion to evidence in court.

Grande is being sued by Barbera for either the profits Grande earned from the photos or $25,000 for each picture, according to BuzzFeed News.

However, I’m confused as to how Grande necessarily profited from the photos since this particular post was not sponsored by any company or product that would pay Grande for the post. Instagram doesn’t pay celebrities to post photos, regardless of how much engagement they get.

The way people make money off of Instagram is when a company pays celebrities or influencers to post a photo mentioning or picturing a product or service of some sort. These type of transactions are known as paid promotions and usually have the hashtag #ad or #paidpromotion attached to the caption. So, unless Grande’s label or anyone else involved in album sales of Sweetner paid the singer to post those photos, I don’t think she profited from them directly.

The only way Barbera could argue that Grande profited from the photos is if he could prove that the post was directly linked to Grande’s album sales. And even then, the post didn’t include a link to buy the album nor did the caption even use language having to do with album sales. The caption “happy sweetener day” hardly screams “sweetener out now everywhere. Go stream or buy it” like most album promotional posts read. Regardless, I have no idea how one could even track if the post impacted album sales or streams without a link. Therefore, if Grande does lose this case, she’ll most likely be paying Barbera $50 grand.

It would be more reasonable in Barbera’s case to determine how much money he lost from not being able to sell the photos of Grande to publications. If Grande hadn’t publicly posted the photos to her Instagram, magazines and newspapers could have bought the photos from him directly instead of being able to screenshot them. He really should be suing publications that used them without his permission. That way, he could more accurately track how much profit was made from the images through newspaper or magazine sales.

Why Have Copyright Infringement Laws?

Now, a lot of people are speaking out regarding the fact that Grande, and other celebrities like Gigi Hadid and Kim Kardashian West, are being sued for posting photos of themselves taken by paparazzi.

The issue lies within copyright laws that intend to protect intellectual property and works of art, even if it comes from someone hiding in a bush. Without these laws, we wouldn’t be able to protect our own works of art, no matter the magnitude. Generally, celebrities can only sue if their image is used to promote a product without their permission, but they do not own the rights to their own photos.

How to Avoid Copyright Infringement on Instagram

Many other celebrities have chosen to take a different route and use their own personal photographers to create content for their Instagram. Some do this for style and other may because of copyright issues. However, if more celebrities used their own personal photographers, would this put the paparazzi out of a job? Probably not because publications would still buy the rights to the images from the paparazzi, but regardless, it could solve the issue of having to go to court over an Instagram post.

What do you think? Should copyright laws be changed so that celebrities have the right to all images of themselves or should they stay the same so the paparazzi can stay in business?

Looking for a Copyright Lawyer or Intellectual Property Lawyer?

If you seek legal assistance for an issue regarding intellectual property or you have been defamed on the internet or social media, contact the attorneys at RM Warner Law. We know how to help.

Source: Https://Www.Buzzfeednews.Com/Article/Davidmack/Ariana-Grande-Sued-Lawsuit-Paparazzi-Instagram

Tags: ariana grandeintellectual propertyinternet lawpaparazzi lawsuitsocial media law
No Comments
Share
0

About Daniel Warner

As a partner at RM Warner, Daniel focuses the majority of his practice on litigating cases involving Internet defamation, false and misleading advertising/marketing, unfair competition and cyber harassment. Although based in Arizona, Dan Warner has litigated Internet defamation cases in California, Texas, Nevada, Pennsylvania, New York, Georgia, North Carolina and Florida, as well as numerous cases in Arizona. Mr. Warner also works on various contractual, commercial, business, real estate, Internet and Internet marketing matters.

You also might be interested in

lone microphone | RM Warner Inernet Law Firm

Facebook & The “F-Word”: Free Speech

Apr 15, 2019

What is a Public Forum? When the founding fathers first[...]

pizza and ingredients | RM Warner Inernet Law Firm

Papa John’s Saucy Corporate Takeover Issues

Apr 11, 2019

You’ve all heard of Papa John’s, one of the world’s[...]

facebook censorship | RM Warner Inernet Law Firm

Free Speech vs. Government Censorship

Apr 18, 2019

The Internet and the First Amendment are in a constant[...]

Leave a Reply

Your email is safe with us.
Cancel Reply

Recent Posts

  • 5 Essential Agreements Every E-Commerce Site Should Have
  • How to Copyright Your Software Idea: 4 Main Steps
  • 10 Reasons Why You Need a Start-Up Lawyer for Your Online Business
  • Anonymous Blogging and Defamation: Balancing Interests of the Internet
  • In Cases of Internet Defamation, Where Can You Sue?

Recent Comments

  • Raees Mohamed on Cyberbullying Lawyer: How to Sue for Cyberbullying with Defamation Laws
  • Sylvia Richards on Cyberbullying Lawyer: How to Sue for Cyberbullying with Defamation Laws
  • WebDirectory on Can I Sue Someone For Leaking My ‘OnlyFans’ Content?
  • Links.M106.COM on Dr. Dre’s Divorce Battle Is Nothing But a “G” Thang: Soon-To-Be Ex-Wife Fights For the Intellectual Property Rights to His Name
  • Website directory on Can Jussie Smollett be Sued for Defamation?

Contact Us

Send us a message and we'll get back to you, asap.

Send Message
Speak With An Internet Lawyer Today Call Now
  • Defamation Law
  • Internet Law
  • Corporate Law
  • Ecommerce Law
  • Advertising Law
  • Social Media Law
Footer Icon PNG White | RM Warner Inernet Law Firm

Recent Posts

  • 5 Essential Agreements Every E-Commerce Site Should Have
  • How to Copyright Your Software Idea: 4 Main Steps
  • 10 Reasons Why You Need a Start-Up Lawyer for Your Online Business
  • Anonymous Blogging and Defamation: Balancing Interests of the Internet
  • In Cases of Internet Defamation, Where Can You Sue?

Tweets by RMWarnerLaw1

  • RM Warner Instagram
  • Blog
  • Terms of Service

Social Icons Widget

  • RM Warner Law
  • 8283 N Hayden Rd Ste. 229, Scottsdale,
    AZ 85258, United States
  • 1-866-570-8585
  • 866-961-4984
  • admin@rmwarnerlaw.com

© 2020 — RM Warner Law

  • RM Warner Instagram
  • Blog
  • Terms of Service
Prev Next