Miley Cyrus is being sued for copyright infringement after it was claimed that she lacked the authorization to use a photo of herself that she posted on Instagram.
Robert Barbera, the photographer who captured the image, filed a lawsuit against Cyrus for her usage of the image on Friday, September 9, in a federal court in California. He asserts that she did not have his consent before posting the image to her Instagram in February 2021.
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Miley Cyrus Faces Lawsuit For Posting Her Own Picture On Instagram
According to Bloomberg Law, Robert Barbera’s case asserts that Cyrus profited financially from her offensive tweet, which increased traffic to her account and raised the amount of money she made from the sale of her songs. According to him Cyrus’ “impermissible use has crippled if not destroyed the potentiality of any market for the Photograph.”
Miley might have to pay damages if it is determined that she stole Barbera’s image. The photographer had the option of pursuing “statutory” damages, which might reach $150,000 per infringed piece, or “actual” damages, which represent the money he lost by being unable to license his photos. It would be hotly contested in court whether Barbera is entitled to those statutory damages or how much money he lost.
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Why Can Miley And Other Celebrities Get Sued For Using Images Of Themselves?
It might seem only fair for celebrities who are followed by paparazzi to be allowed to at least use the images. Khloe Kardashian essentially said that on Twitter in 2018 after being served with a lawsuit resembling the ones Miley Cyrus is currently dealing with. “They can legally stalk me and harass me and then on top of it all I can’t even use the pictures of myself they take LOL what the f— is this,” Kardashian at the time wrote.
However harsh it may appear; U.S. copyright law is rather unambiguous: Using images taken by photographers without permission is considered an infringement of their copyrights. A celebrity does not acquire co-ownership of an image simply by being in it, nor does their mere presence grant them the right to freely repost it.
Along with Cyrus, and Dua Lipa, the Kardashians, and numerous other celebrities have encountered copyright issues after publishing pictures of themselves online. The same photographer who sued Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa last year has also sued Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande. Liam Hemsworth, Cyrus’ ex-boyfriend, received one in 2019. Another instance included Katy Perry, who was sued after reposting a picture of her 2016 Halloween costume.
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