English singer and songwriter, Dua Lipa is being sued after allegedly posting a paparazzi photo of herself on Instagram.
According to US court documents, the star was snapped queuing at an airport in February 2019 and later shared the shot with her fans “without permission or authorization”.
That notwithstanding, the paparazzi that took a photo of the singer, Integral Images, noted that Lipa profited from the photo, as her Instagram feed acts as a marketing tool for her music. It is seeking 150,000 dollars damages and has asked for a jury trial.
The company is also asking for an order preventing the singer from further acts of infringement, as well as legal costs.
According to reports, Dua Lipa posted the photo on her Instagram page on 7th February 2019, about four days after it was taken. The now-deleted post shows the star standing in line, clutching her airline ticket and passport, while wearing an oversize hat, and wrote in the caption section, “I’ll be living under big fluffy hats until further notice”.
Integral Images had applied to copyright the images, and the request was granted on 20 February 2021 – after Lipa’s Instagram post, according to records from the US Copyright Office.
The company claims Lipa “knowingly” posted the photo to social media without permission, and stood to make money from the shot.
Court documents obtained also claim her Instagram account is “monetized in that it contains content designed to accumulate followers who are directed to, via a link and/or advertisement, consume and purchase [her] content”.
According to the court, “although many people assume they can post an image in which they are the subject, copyright law means the photographer usually owns the rights”.
Some paparazzi are suing celebrities
It is worth noting that Dua Lipa is not the first star to be sued for sharing paparazzi images of themselves on social media. Gigi Hadid, Liam Hemsworth, and Khloe Kardashian have all faced similar cases, while in 2019 both Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber settled complaints brought by photographer Robert Barbera.
In the same year, Jennifer Lopez was sued by the Splashy News and Picture Agency for posting a photo of herself and Alex Rodriguez on Instagram. The company later voluntarily dismissed the complaint with prejudice.
Well, outside of the legal case, Dua Lipa is having a stellar year. She recently won ‘Best album of the year’ at the Brits and ‘Best pop album’ at the Grammys for her lockdown album ‘Future Nostalgia’.
Aside this, she has also landed her first film role, starring alongside Henry Cavill, Sam Rockwell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Samuel L Jackson, and John Cena in the upcoming spy thriller ‘Argylle’.
The movie which is expected to start shooting in August is based on a spy novel from author Ellie Conway. The story of the film follows the world’s greatest spy, ‘Argylle’, as he is caught up in a globe-trotting adventure.
More so, Dua Lipa will also provide original music for the film’s title track and score.
Read also: Dua Lipa, Celeste & AJ Tracey Lead This Year’s Brit Awards Nominations
