This may not make sense to members of the public who are not familiar with copyright law, but famous personalities can have serious legal trouble sharing photos of themselves on social media. This can happen when the image in question has a copyright that they do not have permission to copy. In simpler terms, a celebrity can get into expensive legal hot water if they post a picture of themselves on social media, if they don’t own that picture.
One photographer in particular has sued celebrities who share his work without permission in something of the cottage industry. The last unlucky celebrity caught hair cross, As Billboard mentionedIt’s Miley Cyrus.
Cyrus is facing a lawsuit from photographer Robert Barbera, who in the past has sued Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber and Dua Lipa for sharing his work without permission, for sharing a 2020 photo of her waving to a crowd of fans. Grande and Bieber’s lawsuit has reportedly been settled out of court while Dua Lipa’s case is still pending, and all were related to the unauthorized sharing of photos he licensed. Emily Ratajkowski, LeBron James, Katy Perry, and others have faced similar lawsuits from other photographers in the past few years.
Presley Ann/WireImage/Getty Images
It may seem silly on the surface, but Barbera’s lawsuit says that when a famous person shares one of their pictures of themselves online, it has the effect of “crippl[ing] If not destroyed[ing]his ability to license it, which as a photographer is how he makes a living. According to Billboard, it is backed by copyright law, which provides the option to sue for “actual damages” or revenue that he can prove to have lost as a result of the defendant’s actions, or “damages” Legal” amounting to $150,000 per copyright infringement.
The lawsuit does not include a specific request for damages, and Cyrus has not commented publicly on it yet. But Barbera clearly hoped for one of those undeclared settlements, the likes of which have already occurred with Grande and Pepper.
The lesson: If you’re a celebrity and have a ton of social media, don’t assume you can share a photo just because it was taken of you — or you might face a tough legal settlement afterwards.
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