A photographer is suing Kim Kardashian for posting, allegedly without permission, a photo he says he took that shows her and husband Kanye West.
A rep for the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star declined to comment on the lawsuit, which was filed in a New York federal court on Wednesday.
The photographer, Saeed Bolden, claims in his filing that he snapped and owns the copyright to a photo of the couple that the Keeping Up With the Kardashians star posted on her Instagram page in October 2018. In the pic, both stars are smiling as they walk together with a group of people.
The pic Kim used is a black and white version of his image, and the photographer notes in his lawsuit that her post received 2.2 million likes. The U.S. Copyright Office shows that last year, Saeed registered a copyright for an image of Kim that he took in 2018.
Saeed claims in his filing that the reality star "did not license the photograph" from him for her page, nor have his "permission or consent to publish the photograph," and infringed his copyright in the photograph by reproducing and publicly displaying it.
He claims this has been "willful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifference" to his rights, and that as a direct and proximate cause of the infringement of his copyright and exclusive rights under copyright, he is entitled to damages and any profits made from it, plus attorney's fees and costs. He did not assign a monetary value in his lawsuit. He also demands a jury trial.
In his lawsuit, Saeed also names Kim's shapewear line, Skims Body, as a plaintiff, even though the Instagram account that featured his photo is the reality star's personal page.
Over the past few months, celebrities such as Katy Perry, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Gigi Hadid have been sued, often for more than $100,000, by different members of the paparazzi over their own postings on Instagram of unlicensed photos of themselves, even years later.
Katy's case is pending. Ariana and Justin settled their suits. A federal court granted Gigi's motion to dismiss her case.
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