It may be quite ironic for news agencies to be suing a famous actress. It would seem more usual for the reverse to happen given that these agencies play a big role as influencers. However, the law does not exempt actresses, and that is one thing that Jessica Simpson was reminded of just recently.
The case against the former "Newlyweds" star is quite simple. Simpson used a copyrighted photo of herself and posted it on her Instagram and Twitter accounts. Although normally, people could reason out that the subject of the picture is Simpson herself, this does not disregard copyright issues.
The photos, specifically paparazzi photos, were taken by a photo agency named Splash News. These photos were of Simpson coming out of the New York's Bowery Hotel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Splash News and Photo Agency only gave rights to the photos to the Daily Mail. As such, no one else aside from Daily Mail should use the photos.
Simply put, the agency is suing Simpson by stating that they never allowed Simpson to use these photos. By doing so, she violated the company's copyright. "Simpson or someone acting on her behalf copied the Photograph and distributed it on Instagram - within hours of its original publication on August 9, 2017," reads their complaint filed by attorney Peter Perkowski.
It continued, "The copy of the Photograph that Simpson distributed on Instagram had been altered, without authorization or approval, to remove the CMI showing plaintiff as the copyright owner of the image." This altered photo was first found via celebrity new outlet, Reality TV World, who in turn distributed it online, as per Complex.
As of now, neither Simpson nor her representatives has given any official statements, although she is expected to release one soon. Fans should then stay tuned for further updates in the coming days.
