LeBron James Sued For $150,000 Over Facebook Post
By Ryan Naumann on March 18, 2020 at 6:17 AM EDT
LeBron James is accused of screwing over a photographer by using his work without paying a dime.
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, photographer Steven Mitchell is suing Lebron James and his companies Uninterrupted Digital Ventures and LRMR Ventures, LLC.
Mitchell explains, “This is an action for copyright infringement under Section 501 of the Copyright Act. This action arises out of Defendant’s unauthorized reproduction and public display of a copyrighted photograph of NBA basketball player Lebron James during a basketball game against the Miami Heat, owned and registered by Mitchell, a professional photographer.”
Getty
The photographer explains he is in the business of licensing his photographs for money. He snapped James while playing a game with the Miami Heat.
Mitchell accuses James of taking his photo and posting it on his official Facebook page. The post received ed 1,4000 likes and 92 shares.
The suit claims James didn’t ask for permission or pay a dime to use the photo of himself. The suit reads, “Defendants did not license the Photograph from Plaintiff for its Website, nor did Defendants have Plaintiff’s permission or consent to publish the Photograph on its Website.”
Further, “Defendants infringed Plaintiff’s copyright in the Photograph by reproducing and publicly displaying the Photograph on the Website. Defendants are not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorized to reproduce, publically display, distribute and/or use the Photograph.”
Mitchell is suing James for copyright infringement and seeking $150,000 per infringement. He is asking James to hand over all accounting of profits made from the Facebook post. The photographer believes he is entitled to all profits, income or benefits James received “as a result of it’s unlawful conduct.”
James is the latest in a long list of celebrities to face similar lawsuits. Actor Liam Hemsworth was sued recently for similar claims. Bella Hadid was hit with a federal lawsuit over an Instagram photo she used.
