Donald Trump, Wedding Crasher, Ends Up Being Bad Copyright News for Esquire.com
As was reported by Hollywood Reporter, a photograph of President Donald Trump crashing a wedding hosted at his golf course went viral. Several media outlets used this image, which was subject to copyright protection in favor of the photographer.
The photographer sued, and the court held “Stealing a copyrighted photograph to illustrate a news article, without adding new understanding or meaning to the work, does not transform its purpose — regardless of whether that photograph was created for commercial or personal use.”
The court disagreed with their defense that the photo was for personal, not commercial use, and that it was used for news. Further, the amateur photographer “did have an interest in entering the market upon realizing the value of his work,” states the order. “The creator of a work should not be precluded from future profits should they lack the marketing prowess to capitalize on their work at the time of creation. Otto’s status as an amateur photographer with an iPhone does not limit his right to engage in sales of his work.”
For more details, see: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/donald-trump-wedding-crasher-ends-up-being-bad-copyright-news-esquirecom-1168399
