Apparently, in a lot of cases, well-known personalities face lawsuits for posting photos of themselves on social media such as on Instagram. Posting a copyright-protected photo on social media without the permission of the photographer can be subject to a copyright infringement case.


Jennifer Lopez's Latest Copyright Infringement Case

Recently, Jennifer Lopez is the latest well-known personality to be accused of a copyright infringement case.

It was previously reported that a photographer from New York, Steve Sands, had accused the Latina singer-actress and Nuyorican Productions, J.Lo's production company, for copyright infringement.  

As stated in the lawsuit, Jennifer Lopez made use of a photo of her taken by Sands to promote her brand on social media, specifically Instagram, without permission from Sands. The singer-actress has at least 119 million followers on her official Instagram account.

The copyright-protected photo, which was posted on June 22, 2017, had at least 656,000 likes.

This is the result of using photos without the permission of its photographers. Sands asked Lopez for $150,000 for using his copyright-protected photo without a license. This is a significant issue, especially for those who have a huge number of likes and followings. Acquiring a lot of followers is easy for celebrities. This is one of the reasons why celebrities are getting sued for using photos without license or permission from its photographers.


Jennifer Lopez's Copyright Infringement Cases

Jennifer Lopez's copyright infringement case with Sands is not her only case after posting on social media a photo without the permission of its author. In October 2019, Splash News and Picture Agency sued Lopez for $150,000 after posting a photo in her Instagram account in 2017.

Splash News claimed that the photo, taken by the company of Lopez's fiance Alex Rodriguez, was copyright protected and that they have the exclusive right to the photo Lopez posted on her social media account.


Check these out:


What is Copyright Infringement?

Copyright infringement is the usage of materials that are protected by copyright laws without the permission of the owner of the material. Some of the rights granted to copyright owners include the exclusive liberty to use the material for a certain duration.

Copyright infringement involves a violation of a third party to these rights. The two most well-known kinds of entertainment that significantly suffer from copyright infringement are movies and music, says an article.

The growing significance of the internet has resulted in the creation of new challenges for copyright holders. Through the conveniently accessible internet, copyright materials have become easier to be accessed by everyone--companies, writers, and publishers--all over the world. The expansion and continuous developments in technology is making it difficult for the copyright regulatory environment to apply to multiple formats.