Not long after photographer Carol Highsmith sued Getty Images for $1 billion, claiming the photo agency had copyrighted thousands of her images without her permission, Getty is facing yet another lawsuit over alleged copyright infringement.
Zuma Press, an independent press agency, filed a civil complaint against Getty on Monday for alleged copyright violations and unauthorized licensing of more than 47,000 images, Ars Technica reports.
Zuma’s attorney alleges in the document that Getty has been so busy expanding its library of images, it’s overstepped copyright.
“Getty has been carelessly and recklessly acquiring content, not doing due diligence and not taking adequate measures to prevent infringement as well as falsifying/removing proper copyright management information,” attorney Richard Leibowitz writes in the complaint.
Such a rapid expansion is only possible “at the expense of others’ rights,” the complaint alleges, despite the fact that there have been hundreds of complaints filed with Washington State Attorney General’s Office, several lawsuits, ”and the growing consensus in the industry that its abusive, unethical, and reckless business practices must be addressed.”
The suit is demanding unspecified damages.
“We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and investigating the matter, and are unable to comment further at this time,” a Getty spokesperson told Consumerist in an emailed statement. “We hope to resolve the matter as soon as possible.”
Getty Images sued again over alleged misuse of over 47,000 photos [Ars Technica]
by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist