Photographer Sues Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame for ‘Illegally Displaying’ His Picture of Van Halen
The Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. A veteran music photographer has sued the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame claiming that the museum illegally displayed his picture of the band Van Halen. Acclaimed photographer Neil Zlozower — who has shot the likes of The Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, and Bruce Springsteen — filed the lawsuit in opposition to the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame which is predicated in Cleveland, Ohio. In a criticism filed Friday in Ohio federal courtroom, Zlozower alleges that the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame by no means paid to license his black-and-white copyrighted picture of Van Halen within the recording studio within the late Seventies. In keeping with a report by Billboard, Zlozower has accused the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame of utilizing his picture of Valen with out permission and turning the picture an eight-foot-tall show within the Cleveland museum. In his lawsuit, Zlozower says that the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame made an “precise copy of a crucial portion of plaintiff’s unique picture” for the exhibit, which he says “didn’t embody any picture credit score or mentions as to the supply of the picture.” The photographer contends {that a} museum just like the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame, which shows so many copyrighted photos and recordings, ought to have been conscious of the alleged infringement.
“Defendant is a classy firm which owns a complete portfolio of bodily and digital platforms and has superior operational and strategic experience in an business the place copyright is prevalent,” the photographer’s attorneys allege in courtroom paperwork. “Defendant’s employees have important expertise in copyright issues and are acquainted with particular practices together with the necessity to make sure that the entire works used of their displays have been correctly licensed.” The photographer is pursuing statutory damages, which might attain as much as $150,000 per infringement if Zlozower and his attorneys show the museum wilfully violated his copyrights. In keeping with Billboard, Zlozower’s lawsuit in opposition to the Cleveland museum is the most recent of greater than 50 such circumstances that the photographer has filed over the previous decade. The publication reviews that Zlozower has sued Common Music Group twice for utilizing his photos of Elvis Costello and Weapons N’ Roses. He has additionally beforehand filed lawsuits in opposition to Ticketmaster, Warner Music Group, and the band Mötley Crüe. For a lot of photographers, copyright lawsuits will be the one actual recourse in opposition to the alleged unauthorized use of their photos and mental property. Picture credit: Header picture licensed by way of Depositphotos.
