On October 11, 2023, Kibler Fowler & Cave’s Entertainment and Intellectual Property Litigation practice group assisted in filing a copyright infringement lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on behalf of its client, photographer Jeffrey McCurry, against Gannett Co., Inc., which owns and operates numerous media outlets. Mr. McCurry is the photographer and the copyright owner of two famous photographs of the late gorilla known as “Harambe,” who became an internet sensation after he was shot and killed by officials because a young boy had fallen into the gorilla enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo. As was reported in Bloomberg Law, the complaint alleges that Gannett repeatedly published Mr. McCurry’s photographs of Harambe in The Cincinnati Enquirer without Mr. McCurry’ permission and without properly compensating him for its use. The complaint further alleges that Gannett’s use of the photograph exceeded the boundaries of fair use, as the image was employed extensively and without proper compensation or attribution.
KF&C previously represented Mr. McCurry in a copyright infringement dispute with Barstool Sports over Mr. McCurry’s photographs of Harambe. The lawsuit, which was pending in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was amicably resolved with a favorable settlement for Mr. McCurry.
The KF&C team for the copyright infringement lawsuits includes Partner Matt Cave and Senior Associate Kevin Kroll.
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