Woman Sues Getty: Falsely Labeled As HIV-Positive
Posted on 9/20/2013 by Jim Pickerell | Printable Version |
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According to the New York Post Avril Nolan, 25, has sued Getty Images for $450,000 after discovering her unreleased picture splashed across a quarter-page color ad in the free newspaper am New York on April 3, 2012. Next to her face were the words "I am positive (+)" and "I have rights."
Nolan is perfectly healthy, never had HIV and never signed a model release to allow her image to be used in any kind of advertising.
She was alerted to the use by Facebook friends and her pilates instructor. Nolan, who works in PR, says New York photographer Jena Cumbo took the photo, but "had no written release or authorization" to use or sell the image.
Cumbo described herself as an acquaintance of Ms Nolan. "I have been nothing but apologetic about how this happened," Cumbo told The Post. "I never intended for her picture to be used in this way." Cumbo confirmed that she never gave Getty a release and that the photo was originally used editorially in a magazine.
The message, paid for by the New York State Division of Human Rights, continued that "people who are HIV positive are protected by the New York State Human Rights Law."
"Upon learning of the publication, [Ms Nolan] became instantly upset and apprehensive that her relatives, potential romantic partners, clients as well as bosses and supervisors might have seen the advertisement," she wrote in the court papers.
"Feeling humiliated and embarrassed, [Ms Nolan] was forced to confess to her bosses that her image had been used in an advertisement for HIV services, implying that she was infected with HIV, in a newspaper often used by her own clients for advertising and that is distributed to tens of thousands of New Yorkers every day."
Questions
How many customers think that because a person’s image is on GettyImages.com – in the Editorial Collection or otherwise – that it is available for any type of use whatsoever, regardless of what the context of the use might imply about the individual, or how it might damage the individual’s reputation?
How many customers read the fine print in the license agreement after they have purchased an image?
Copyright © 2013
Jim Pickerell.
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