Photographer Can Take Jigsaw Puzzle Company to Court Over Use of His Photos

A photographer can proceed with his copyright infringement lawsuit against a Canadian puzzle-maker that allegedly used his images on its jigsaw puzzles.

Last week, a judge ruled that professional landscape and nature photographer Elliot McGucken could pursue copyright infringement and Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) claims against Canadian puzzle manufacturer Karmin International.

In his lawsuit, McGucken claims that Karmin International reproduced five of his photographs without authorization on its puzzles in its “Nature’s Beauty” series and placed their own copyright notices on the resulting products. The companies allegedly sold the puzzles across the United States, including in New York.

According to a report by Vital Law on the case, McGucken claims that the images had previously appeared on his website and Flickr profile alongside his name, titles, and copyright notices. Although the puzzle packaging stated that the photographs had been licensed from stock photography platform Shutterstock, it also carried a copyright notice identifying Karmin International, followed by an “All Rights Reserved” statement.

McGucken argues that this was misleading because the copyright notices suggested that Karmin International owned the rights to photographs that he had taken. He also alleges that the companies removed identifying and copyright information from his original images before reproducing them on the puzzles. McGucken alleges that the companies continued selling the products and displaying his photographs even after receiving notices from Shutterstock concerning the alleged infringement.

McGucken sued Karmin International, but the puzzle manufacturer asked the court to dismiss several of the photographer’s claims in his lawsuit. However, on November 3, Judge John G. Koeltl of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the photographer could proceed with most of his copyright infringement claims against the puzzle maker.

According to Vital Law, Judge Koeltl ruled that McGucken had provided sufficient grounds for his allegations that Karmin International used false copyright notices on the jigsaw packaging and removed identifying information from his original photographs.

The judge also allowed McGucken’s claim of vicarious copyright infringement to proceed. This means a company can potentially be held responsible for another party’s copyright infringement if it has the ability to supervise the activity and benefits financially from it. McGucken alleges that Karmin and its marketing affiliate Playview worked together to produce and market the puzzles and that they both benefited from the sales.

 

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Image creditsHeader photo licensed via Depositphotos.