A Los Angeles celebrity photographer sued a media and marketing company Friday, alleging that his photo of SnapChat founder Evan Spiegel was used online without his permission.
Attorneys for Michael Grecco Productions contend in the copyright infringement lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, that Grecco is the exclusive rights holder to the Spiegel photo and has no record of having licensed or granted permission to Advance Local Media for its use.
Grecco alleges that despite extended communication with a lawyer for the New York company last year, the defendant refused to remove the image from its website, and the parties were unable to resolve the matter.
The picture was licensed by Grecco to Forbes magazine, which used it on its January 2014 cover, the suit states.
It also appeared on Advance Media’s nj.com website last year to illustrate an article about Forbes’ plans to relocate to Jersey City, according to Grecco.
The suit seeks up to $150,000 in damages, attorney’s fees and a court order preventing the defendant “from further infringement” of all of Grecco’s copyrighted works.