The pop star and actress is being sued for allegedly posting paparazzi pictures of herself with out securing the right copyright licenses.
The dispute facilities round photos taken earlier than the 2025 Golden Globe Awards and shared on her Instagram and X accounts.
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Jennifer Lopez Hit With Twin Copyright Lawsuits
On Saturday, Could 17, photographer Edwin Blanco and picture company BackGrid USA filed two federal lawsuits in opposition to Jennifer Lopez.
They declare to co-own photos of Lopez standing exterior the Amazon MGM Studios x Vainness Honest Celebration at Los Angeles’ Bar Marmont on January 4, the night time earlier than the Golden Globe Awards.
In accordance with lawyer Peter Perkowski, representing Blanco and BackGrid, Lopez posted the images the next day, on January 5, to each Instagram and X with out permission. The alleged copyright breach triggered a wave of reposts by fan pages and style manufacturers.
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“Ms. Lopez’s unauthorized use of the Photos is industrial in nature, supposed for the aim of self-promotion,” wrote Perkowski per Billboard. “For instance, Ms. Lopez used the pictures to highlight the designer of her clothes and jewellery, leveraging the publicity from the occasion to advertise her style affiliations and model partnerships.”
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Jennifer Lopez’s Crew Allegedly Backed Out Of Verbal Deal
Perkowski revealed that BackGrid and Blanco reached out to Lopez’s workforce the week after the alleged infringement to deal with the scenario.
Discussions reportedly went nicely, and the events verbally agreed to a monetary settlement. Nevertheless, Lopez’s aspect by no means finalized the deal in writing or made any cost.
The lawsuits additionally emphasised that this isn’t the primary time Lopez has confronted related claims.
In 2019, she was sued for posting a paparazzi picture that includes herself and then-boyfriend Alex Rodriguez.
That case, additionally dealt with by Perkowski, led to a voluntary dismissal in 2020.
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“This prior litigation positioned Ms. Lopez on discover relating to the authorized necessities and potential penalties related to the usage of copyrighted photos with out correct authorization,” Perkowski wrote. “Regardless of this, Ms. Lopez has continued to have interaction in related conduct, demonstrating a willful disregard for BackGrid’s copyrights by way of a sample of habits that undermines the rights of content material creators.”
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Lopez Is not The First Superstar To Be Sued For Posting Their Picture
The plaintiffs accused Jennifer Lopez of willful copyright infringement, which may lead to damages of as much as $150,000 per picture.
If the lawsuit succeeds, the actress must pay $300,000 for posting her personal picture.
As of Monday, Lopez’s representatives had not responded to the lawsuit.
Followers might discover it odd that celebrities are sued over their pictures, however the regulation is on the plaintiff’s aspect.
Stars like Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, and Dua Lipa have all confronted related lawsuits lately.
What Does The Regulation Say?
Underneath U.S. copyright regulation, the photographer, not the particular person within the picture, owns the rights to a picture.
This implies celebrities will be sued for posting paparazzi pictures of themselves on social media with out permission.
Even when the celebrities are the only real topic of the picture, they don’t have any authorized proper to make use of it with out a license. Therefore, taking or posting such photos with out consent is taken into account copyright infringement.
Moreover, being in a public place doesn’t exempt somebody from being photographed, nor provides them management over the picture.
If infringement is confirmed, the superstar might owe both precise or statutory damages, as much as $150,000 per picture.
Most circumstances, nevertheless, settle out of court docket for smaller quantities.
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