UPSWING OF PAPARAZZI LAWSUITS: IS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS FAIR?

When it comes to spotting celebrities and capturing their glance behind the cameras, Paparazzi firms are always on their toe. Paparazzi are freelance photographers who take pictures of eminent personalities such as politicians, actors, and other celebrities. They work at the convergence of free speech and apathy to the norms of polite society. A person who is adequately known is considered to be a Public Figure who in some ways, waives the right to privacy by perusing a public-facing career. This gives them the right to take pictures of celebrities in public because of which many celebrity magazines are filled with photographs of famous celebrities.

Several Paparazzi firms have sued celebrities for posting their paparazzi pictures featuring them on their social media handles because copyright law usually means that the photographer and not the subject matter of the image, owns the right over the photo. Gigi Hadid, Liam Hemsworth, Khloe Kardashian, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Lopez, and Justin Bieber are some renowned names who have confronted legal consequences from paparazzi firms.

Now, the recent name to join the list is English Singer and composer, Dua Lipa who is being sued for sharing a paparazzi photo of herself on her Instagram account on 7th February’2019. In the now-deleted post, the star was seen standing in a queue at the airport, clutching her airline ticket and passport, and she wore an oversize hat [1]. Integral Images, the Company owing copyright to the photo alleges Dua Lipa for posting it without permission and authorization from the company. The company also alleged that she has profited from the picture by sharing it on Instagram which acted as a promoting tool for her music album. Integral Images further alleges that the Instagram account of Dua Lipa is monetized.

The company had applied to register the copyright of the picture and the request was granted on 20th February, 2021 after Dua Lipa had posted the picture on her Instagram feed. Since the post has been deleted by the Lipa, Integral Images is still seeking damages worth $150,000 that is, INR 11,173,595.36 in Indian Rupees and has requested for Jury Trial and an order preventing her from further acts of Intellectual Property infringement.

Please feel free to reach out to any member of the G&A Team in case you require any clarifications on the above.

Gandhi & Associates

[1] Dua Lipa Gets Sued For Posting Paparazzi Photo of Herself on Instagram; https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/dua-lipa-gets-sued-for-posting-paparazzi-photo-of-herself-on-instagram-3947060.html