An Austin photographer is suing Apple Inc., claiming that the computing giant sold apps which stole her photos.

Shanti Deva Korpi claims that two iPhone apps, the "Unofficial Guide to Hipstamatic" and Photoinspire, have republished her copyrighted photos, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the Austin division of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Korpi, according to the suit, regularly takes photos with the app Hipstamatic and posts them on the Flickr photo-sharing site (with copyright protection notices, according to the suit).

Neither Korpi's attorney, Buck McKinney, nor Apple responded to interview requests.

Since June 22, the apps "have copied and re-published all 80 of the Plaintiff's copyrighted works," according to the suit, while stripping them of copyright notices and credits. Two of Korpi's photos were also used in Apple's App Store as marketing materials for one of the apps — without credits, according to the suit.

Korpi has served at least six notices of copyright infringement to Apple regarding the apps, according to the suit, but "Unofficial Guide to Hipstamatic" remains for sale. Photoinspire was recently removed, according to the suit.

The suit claims that Apple infringed on Korpi's copyrights, in part, because the company could have pulled the apps from its App Store "but chose not to do so - even after it was notified that the apps infringed Plaintiff's copyrights."

The suit seeks unspecified damages.

(Source: www.statesman.com)