Model Wins Lawsuit Against French Playboy For Publishing 'Unauthorized' Naked Photos
from the publicity-rights? dept
Erik sent over the the news that Dutch model Lara Stone has apparently won damages against French Playboy for publishing what were referred to as "unauthorized" photos of her in their June issue. Tragically, much of the reporting on this doesn't explain what kind of photos we're talking about (from the description, it almost sounded like photos taken while she was unaware). However, in the interest of understanding the legal implications only (of course), I (ahem) found the photos in question (oh so very NSFW). The photos all appear to be professional studio shots, most likely from a single photoshoot. Stone claims that her main complaint was just that "no woman wants photos of them to be published in Playboy without permission." However, I'm wondering how French Playboy got the photos in the first place, and if it wouldn't have a claim against the photographer, if he had claimed the rights to the photos (and produced a signed model release form). Obviously, the photos themselves were initially taken with permission, since it's clearly a professional photoshoot. So, where in the process did the photos become "unauthorized"?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: france, lara stone, playboy, publicity rights, unauthorized
Companies: playboy
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Anyways I'm curious to know where it became unauthorized.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I wonder what they will do about the threats that Bin Laden made to them. They probably surrender and sue anybody reporting on the surrender for copyright infringement LoL
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
On to the article itself. I am betting that she had a thing where on a CASE BY CASE BASIS, she had to give permission to use her photographs.
If the photographer included photos that the woman said "No, I don't want those to be put in the magazine!" because they were too explicit or something similar?
THEN the photographer should be in trouble, not Playboy France.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
Odd that's not mentioned.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
America is a funny country.
I don't think it's the nude photos that bother Lara Stone so much as where they were published. It's too bad that the author didn't do a bit more digging. Looking around myself, it would appear that the agency Icon ought to have borne most of the blame since they did not verify that the buyer was a tasteful publisher. In other words, she doesn't want to be associated with porn. I can understand how she might be upset and how that could have a seriously negative impact on her career.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: America is a funny country.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
I'm sure she was unaware
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Italy is a funny country.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
She never posed for Playboy!
These photo's were made by Greg Lotus (http://greglotus.com) and were probably meant to be published in Vogue magazine. The pictures were made somewhen in november or december of 2009.
And apparently she can dictate the conditions of when and where they can be published.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: She never posed for Playboy!
It doesn't hurt her career as much as suing companies that want to use her photos. I don't think anyone would want to deal with her now.
And apparently she can dictate the conditions of when and where they can be published.
That's probably the core of her argument. I am guessing they told her the photos were solely for the calendar, but if the studio followed contract standards, then they probably had her sign away the rights to the photos.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
Sure, I just don't get how a nude calendar is different. Magazine with erotic photos of naked women vs. calendar with erotic photos of naked women. It's not like one of them's hardcore. I just don't get the difference.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
Do the Math.....
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: She never posed for Playboy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: She never posed for Playboy!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well she broke a very simple rule
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
...kinda fugly for a model...
but more on topic, its not like this is the first time playboy has paid money for images they really did not have the rights to and published them.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This link doesn't do justice to the full story. "http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/alba-threatens-playboy-over-cover-pic
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
NSFW, unless you work at Techdirt...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Which one
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
One thing is certain, Lotus will most likely not want to shoot her again, and Lara should marry a 'baller' and retire.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]