Ye is facing charges for allegedly publishing several photos of himself and Bianca Censori without permission.
Ye was sued for unauthorized use of photos
Documents received from XXL show that BackGrid USA, Inc. and Backgrid London Ltd filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Ye on August 8. They claim that the Yeezy mogul used photos on his Instagram account without the company’s permission. One of the photos in question shows West dressed all in black while Censori walks next to him in a see-through, skin-colored outfit and holds a purple pillow. Another image shows West and Censori at Milan’s Nuova Arena restaurant in February, and a third shows Censori on a shopping spree with Ye at the Balenciaga store.
In total, BackGrid alleges that Ye reproduced, distributed and displayed ten photos on his website and social media, violating federal copyright law.
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Cam’ron has to pay a photographer $50,000 for using a copyrighted photo
A similar situation occurred with Cam’ron, who was ordered in February to pay a photographer $50,000 for the use of a copyrighted photo. The photo in question is the famous image of Cam wearing a pink fur coat and headband and holding a matching flip phone. Photographer Djamilla Cochran had previously sued the rapper and his company Dipset Couture in April 2023 for using the image for merchandising without her permission.
“The court finds that statutory damages of seven times the royalty rate are sufficient to compensate the plaintiff for the infringement of its copyright and to deter future infringements by punishing the defendant,” the judge ruled.
As a result, Cam was ordered to pay $51,221.50. Of that amount, $40,530 is earmarked as “statutory damages” and $10,691 is to cover Cochran’s legal fees. The verdict is no surprise considering that Cam never responded to the lawsuit or offered a defense.
Read more: Kanye West grabs photographer’s phone and lectures her after she asks a question about Ye’s wife Bianca Censori – Watch
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