PHILADELPHIA — A professional photographer is suing a children's book publisher, citing alleged copyright infringement.
Michael Keller filed a complaint against Scholastic Inc. on May 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that the children's book publisher violated U.S. copyright law.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that between 1998 and 2001, he entered into an agreement with The Stock Market (TSM) and this TSM agreement was assigned to Corbis Corporation (Corbis) around 2001. Between 1996 and the present date, TSM and Corbis sold to Scholastic limited use of licenses of his photographs, the suit says.
The plaintiff claims that Scholastic infringed on copyright, and as a result, he allegedly has suffered and will continue to suffer unless and until the court has issued a decision in his favor. The plaintiff holds Scholastic Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly unlawfully reproduced and exceeded the limits of use of his copyrighted photographs.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks preliminary and permanent injunction against defendant from copying his photographs, compensation for actual damages and all profits derived from the unauthorized use of his photographs, attorneys' fees and costs and for such other relief that the court may deem just and proper. He is represented by Maurice Harmon of Harmon & Seidman LLC in New Hope.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Case number 2:16-cv-01829