Model Gigi Hadid is facing another copyright infringement lawsuit as a result of her activity on Instagram.
In January, WIPR reported that Hadid had been sued for reposting an image of herself on the social media platform without the permission of the photographer.
The photograph at the heart of the latest suit is of Zayn Malik, former member of pop band One Direction.
In the complaint, filed at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on September 13 freelance photographer Robert O'Neil said that he was the rightful owner of the copyright for the photo of Malik.
"Gigi Hadid is not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorised to reproduce, publicly display, distribute and/or use the photograph, " the complaint said.
O'Neil is seeking USD 150,000 in statutory damages, as well as attorneys' fees.
The January 2019 complaint against Hadid in relation to the photo she reposted of herself was thrown out in July after it emerged that the plaintiff Xclusive-Lee had not registered the copyright for the photo with the US Copyright Office by the time the suit was filed.
That decision followed a ruling of the US Supreme Court in March this year in Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation v Wall-Street.com, which held that copyright infringement suits cannot be filed until after the Copyright Office has granted registration for the work at issue.
Source: Wipr
