Photographer Sues Rihanna Saying Her Video Violates Copyright On His Photos

from the an-homage-is-infringing? dept

Tue, Feb 15th 2011 10:38am — Mike Masnick

This is bizarre. Shocklee points us to the news that celebrity photographer David LaChapelle is suing singer Rihanna, claiming that the video of her latest song, "S&M" is "directly derived" from his photographs. I haven't seen the full lawsuit filing (anyone got it?), so I don't know all of the details of what's being alleged, but the derivative claims sound like a standard copyright claim. A few news sources have compared the video and the photos, and while they're similar and the photos certainly may have inspired the scenes in the video, they certainly don't look like direct copies in any way. Here are a few examples, video on the left, photos on the right.

I'm having trouble understanding how any of these would be considered copyright infringing. Sure, they may be homages to the original photos, but that shouldn't be infringing. Remember, copyright is only supposed to cover the specific expression, and not the idea. In all of these examples, it looks like the specific expression is quite different, even if the idea is similar. Why not just be happy with the flattery and move on? Of course, some will say that the press attention from the lawsuit is probably the reason why, and perhaps that's true, even if it's an incredibly cynical view on the world.

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Filed Under: copyright, david lachapelle, rihanna, video

37 Comments

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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 10:41am

Ooo ick! You put perez hilton on your blog.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 10:54am

Re:
You got blog on Perez Hilton!
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 10:56am

Is someone feeling inadequat?
Looks like David LaChapelle is feeling a little fame envy. The stuff in the photographs looks like the standard S&M fare. No reason why he should feel miffed. Does he expect me to pay him royalties every time I spank my girlfriend?
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:01am

Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Good work if you can get it.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:13am

Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
ffffff... I'm copyright violating every other Tuesday and never knew it!
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Eugene (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:18am

Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Pickle Monger: putting the "violating" in violating copyright :D
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:34am

Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Which leads me to believe that there should be a lesser charge than copyright violation. Copyright molestation anyone?
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Hephaestus (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:36am

Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
What spanking his girlfriend, or the royalties piece? ;)
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:36am

Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
If we're going that route, then there should totally be "Copyright Harassment" too.
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Berenerd (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 11:58am

Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
non-consensual copyright copulation.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:28pm

Re:
wonder if his blog got an std.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:39pm

Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
"Does he expect me to pay him royalties every time I spank my girlfriend?"

Pics or it didn't happen....
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:39pm

Re: Re:
Now you have me picturing Perez and Masnick in a big bucket of peanut butter. Not a pretty though.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Hrm. Have to think about that one.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:39pm

Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Hrm. Have to think about that one.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:49pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Twice?
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 12:49pm

Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Hmmm... Maybe I'll take some with a big giant helmet on my head... Better yet, I'll get my girlfriend to wear it!
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Dark Helmet (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 1:05pm

Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
"Hmmm... Maybe I'll take some with a big giant helmet on my head... Better yet, I'll get my girlfriend to wear it!"

Well....that's just creepy....
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:02pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Three times a lady?
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:06pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Unlike, say, a leash and a ball gag...
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:11pm

Totally unrelated, but does anyone knows if in the video is someone dialing a phone number by any chance?

Hola Susana te estamos decodificando - Hello Susana we are decoding you
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:12pm

Just for the curious.

The decoding mentioned is about how to extract phone numbers from video that has someone dial it and you can hear it.
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Tom Landry (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:13pm

a leather mistress leading a guy around on a leash.....yeah, thats unique.
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Anonymous Howard, 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:14pm

I can sympathize with the photog a bit in this case. My buddy is a vis artist (fine art) and his ideas keep showing up in movies. He knows htat it is not really actionable but I can see why it bugs him.
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:21pm

Re:
Wouldn't this be good for your friend? He can now pitch his work to studios by saying "Look. These were my ideas. I'm happy you used them and this proves my ideas are good. Let's see what I can create specifically for you instead of someone else recycling my old stuff."
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:41pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
There sort of is. It's called strategic lawsuit against public participation or SLAPP for short.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 2:45pm

I don't feel sympathy for David LaChapelle, many people believe they are original when what they did was guided by their times and environment that lead them to a certain conclusion.

University of Washington: Building Rome in a Day

The program above collect millions of picture from Flickr to reconstruct Rome in one day in 3D, if we asked the program to come up with the images that have close resemblance I'm sure that there will not be a hundred, but thousands of images related to any one of those pictures.

Maybe that is the way to solve derivative works now ask a computer system to identify all images that are similar and sue everyone LoL

Or maybe we realize that we are not that original and shouldn't be going legal for those things.
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ChurchHatesTucker (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 3:32pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
Hey, it's that important.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 4:34pm

The walking a guy on a leash "hurrr durrr look how empowered and also kinky I am" thing is completely uncreative, and was even when Madonna did it before either of you.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Feb 2011 @ 5:50pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
I love this blog.
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Cynyr (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 6:30pm

Re:
I think the prior art goes back a bit longer than Madonna... but that would be a good high profile example.
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Alex Bowles, 15 Feb 2011 @ 7:45pm

double standard?
Here's work by David LaChapelle that pays (exceedingly close) homage to Andy Warhol.

http://www.phillipsdepury.com/auctions/lot-detail.aspx?sn=UK010211&search=&p=15&a mp;order=&lotnum=370

Ironically, the 'original' (i.e. Warhol's painting) is - itself - derived from yet another photograph. So by the time LaChapelle took a photo that was composed and processed to look like a painting that was itself an image of an image, the whole "derivative work" thing had taken on several layers. Indeed, they are both derivative works ABOUT derivative works.

In fairness to LaChapelle, he explicitly credits his source in Warhol. But did he get advance permission from the Warhol estate and pay whatever they would likely charge for this? I have no idea, but if LaChapelle is going to get into a fight like the one he's in, now would be a great time for him to say which side of this issues he's been on in the past.

Does anyone else know if his "Amanda Lepore as Andy Warhol's Marilyn (Red)" was done with the permission and payment? Or did he just do it because he wanted to, offering nothing more that the credit that *he* felt was due, and nothing more?
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Pickle Monger (profile), 15 Feb 2011 @ 9:47pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
With a special one in Sweden for "consensual-on-condition-of-condom-but-eventually-without-the-condom-so-now-it's-rape" copulation
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Anonymous Coward, 16 Feb 2011 @ 4:32am

Re: Re: Is someone feeling inadequat?
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vivaelamor (profile), 16 Feb 2011 @ 1:05pm

Re: Re:
"wonder if his blog got an std."

Is Perez notoriously promiscuous or something?
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out_of_the_blue, 21 Oct 2011 @ 3:30pm

UPDATED this page for ya, Mike, with a bit of actuality:
by Mike Masnick Fri, Oct 21st 2011 2:18pm

Homage Is Expensive: Rihanna Pays Up To Settle Photographer's Lawsuit

We've been covering the lawsuit filed by photographer Dave LaChapelle because the video for Rihanna's song S&M appeared to mimic some of the ideas found in some of his photographs:

Of course, we thought that there was an idea/expression dichotomy in copyright law that says you can't copyright the idea -- just the expression. So we thought that a judge would make quick work of the case. Instead, the judge confirmed what we already suspected: the idea/expression dichotomy is a total and complete myth, and the case could move forward. This was reasonably troubling for lots of folks -- though certainly for Rihanna.

So it came as little surprise that Rihanna has "settled" the lawsuit with LaChapelle, meaning that she gave him a bunch of cash to go away. The lesson in all of this? Homage is expensive. You're best off not bothering.
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Karl Baker, 24 Nov 2013 @ 1:44pm

Blatant Copyright!
Thats blatant copyright in my eyes..Rhianna also knew this!
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