Music Photographer Sues Getty Images For Selling Iconic Images ‘Without Any Agreement’
A famed music photographer has sued Getty Images for allegedly selling some of his most iconic images without entering into an agreement with him.
Alec Byrne has launched a copyright infringement lawsuit against Getty Images claiming that the company has sold popular photos he shot of artists such as ABBA and Fleetwood Mac without any contract with him.
According to Law.com, Bryne — who famously documented the London music scene of 1960s and 1970s — alleges that “at least 175 Getty Images customers downloaded and copied the one or more the Subject Photographs through its ‘Premium Access’ subscription option.”
In court documents, Bryne also claims that “at least 62 customers purchased ‘a la carte’ licenses” to images.
An Iconic Photo of Abba
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles on June 26, particularly centers on a photo of ABBA.
Bryne says this specific image of ABBA was among a “series of photographs of the popular musical group” that he shot in his “private London studio” in December 1974.
However, the photographer claims that he only became aware that Getty Images were licensing the image in 2021.
Bryne alleges that publications like The Los Angeles Times, Vox, and Dotdash have now all “published” and are “currently displaying the ABBA Photograph” — supposedly without the proper consent.
“On or about November 16, 2021, Plaintiff became aware that Getty Images had been offering for sale, licensing, and distributing [on its website],” the lawsuit states.
In court documents, Byrne alleges that he “never entered into any licensing agreement or other contract with Getty Images.”
Furthermore, Byrne’s complaint contends that “Getty Images licensed and distributed the ABBA Photograph despite explicitly representing to its customers that the image was a “publicly distributed handout” and that it could provide ‘ACCESS RIGHTS ONLY.’”
In the lawsuit, Bryne also claims Getty Images sold photographs that he took of lead singer of the Bee Gees Barry Gibb and Alvin Stardust. Law.com reports that Bryne could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, Getty Images sued Stable Diffusion claiming that the artificially intelligent (AI) image generator has stolen over 12 million of its copyrighted photos. The photo agency has filed a lawsuit against the company and is seeking up to $150,000 per infringement, or up to $1.8 trillion.
Image credits: All photos sourced from Alec Byrne v. Getty Images US, Inc..
