Yesterday we reported on a lawsuit filed against Getty Images by noted U.S culture archive photographer Carol Highsmith. The case was notable for the extraordinarily high liability sum sought after in the suit, with a potential US$1 billion of damages being sought by Highsmith. Now both sides have responded to our request to speak on the matter.
The case revolved around Getty allegedly misappropriating 18,755 photographs of Highsmith’s. The image provider site was attempting to monetise the photos and even issued Highsmith with a copyright infringement claim. The photos in question are part of a massive collection Highsmith has spent the last 30 years contributing to the U.S Library of Congress, making them free for public use. However, Highsmith claims that though she allowed her images to be used in this manner, she retained her individual ownership and credit right of the images. If this is the case, then Getty was possibly making a profit from Highsmith’s images without the right to do so.
To read the full article:
http://www.digitalrev.com/article/getty-images-issues-statement-over-usd1-billion-lawsuit
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