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Miley Cyrus sued for posting a photo of herself without photographer’s permission
Pop star Miley Cyrus is being sued for copyright infringement for posting a picture of herself on her Instagram that she didn’t have permission to use.
Photographer Robert Barbera sued Cyrus over her use of the picture.
He asserts that she shared the image to her Instagram account without his consent in February 2021.
According to Bloomberg Law, Barbera asserts that Cyrus profited financially from her infringing tweet, which increased traffic to her account that helped make more profits from the sale of her songs.
He also alleges that Cyrus’ “impermissible use has crippled if not destroyed the potentiality of any market for the Photograph”.
He is seeking a jury trial as well as actual and statutory damages.
This is not the first time Barbera has sued a celebrity. He has a history of suing singers such as Ariana Grande Justin Bieber, and most recently, Dua Lipa.
PitchMark covered why Dua Lipa is being sued for copyright infringement after sharing her photo taken by Barbera in July 2018.
The photo in question, which was shared by her on Instagram in 2019 without taking permission from the photographer, shows Lipa wearing a black sweater bearing the word “HEROES” in large capital letters while out in New York City. The post has since been deleted.
Barbera emailed Lipa “multiple times” to inform her that a claim would be filed while attempting to settle the matter outside of court. The communication reportedly “slowed and eventually stopped”, he alleges.
In the copyright infringement lawsuit, Barbera’s attorney Craig Sanders complained that Lipa “volitionally selected, copied, stored and displayed” the photos “without permission or authorization.”
Again, Barbera was seeking damages and penalties from the profits Lipa could have made with the photograph on Instagram.
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