PHILADELPHIA — A professional photographer is suing Newsweek for allegations of copyright infringement.
Brian R. Wolff filed a lawsuit on April 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania against Newsweek LLC, IBT Media Inc., and Does 1-10, citing direct and contributory copyright infringement under the Copyright Act of 1976 and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
According to the complaint, Woolf is a professional freelance photographer whose work has appeared in prestigious national and international magazines. The plaintiff claims he is diligent in registering the copyright in his works, restricting the scope of licenses.
Wolff photographed images at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, which he allegedly permitted the defendant to publish under three one-time use licenses, according to the suit. On July 31, 2014, Newsweek reportedly infringed on the plaintiff’s copyright by publishing the photograph in online and refusing to take the photograph down.
Wolff seeks actual damages, disgorgement of all profits attributable to the infringement, statutory damages of $150,000 for willful infringement, attorneys' fees, costs, and pretrial interest. He is represented by Bruce Bellingham and David B. Picker of Spector Gadon & Rosen PC in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:16-cv-01559-MSG