Seven professional photographers sued the NFL, Getty Images (Getty), and the Associated Press (AP) for violating the photographers’ copyrights. The freelance photographers (plaintiffs) filed the lawsuit in New York federal court on October 21, 2013. The lawsuit claims that the three defendants are liable for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and breach of fiduciary duty. The plaintiffs allege that the NFL failed to receive consent to use plaintiffs’ photos in connection with NFL advertisements, news, promotions, and products.
Freelance photographers regularly license their photos through third-party licensing agents. They are not paid salaries or even “day rates” for their services by the NFL or their agents. Instead, the photographers retain the copyrights in their photos and earn royalties from licensing their work to the NFL. Plaintiffs’ attorney Kevin McCulloch said that the “NFL acquired and used thousands of photos with total disregard for the rights of the copyrighted owners.”
The NFL is not the only entity in the spotlight. Getty and the AP are accused of engaging in unethical misconduct by encouraging the NFL to use plaintiffs’ copyrighted photos without consent. Getty and the AP catered to the NFL to maintain an exclusive contract license with the NFL. Getty won the contract in 2007, and lost it to AP in 2009. The lawsuit alleges that Getty and AP granted the NFL nearly “unfettered access to plaintiffs’ photo collections and, either expressly or by inaction, allowed the NFL to make free or ‘complimentary’ use of plaintiffs’ copyrighted photos.”
The plaintiffs claim that Getty breached its fiduciary duty when they threatened to stop marketing all of their sports photos if they moved their NFL images to AP.
The seven photographers are taking a giant risk with this lawsuit. The plaintiffs are putting their careers on the line to stand up not only for their own rights, but those of all freelance photographers. Plaintiffs’ attorneys are concerned with retaliation by the photo licensing agencies in response to the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are asking the court to grant a permanent injunction against the NFL from using or selling the plaintiffs’ works. Additionally, plaintiffs are asking for damages under the Copyright Act, including statutory damages and damages incurred as a result of lost licensing revenue.
Is The NFL Committing Copyright Infringement By Using Photos Without Consent?