Paps Make Good on Perez Threats
Oct. 27 2008, Published 7:07 a.m. ET
SERVED Hilton
The lawsuits just keep piling up over at Perez Hilton's place: First he was sued in November by the photo agency X17 for posting copyrighted celebrity images without permission, then Universal Studios got in on the action in February over his posting still outtakes of a topless Jennifer Aniston from The Breakup. But yesterday, the hammer came down. Five of Hollywood's biggest paparazzi photo agencies joined together, as , to sue Perez, aka Mario Lavandeira, for illegally stealing their photos and video.
Splash News and Picture Agency, Bauer-Griffin, Insight News and Features, Flynet Pictures, and London Entertainment Pictures filed the complaint in federal district court in California Monday, claiming more than 25 counts of infringement for a total of $7 million in damages.
"Perez has achieved his fame and fortune by unlawfully taking and exploiting other people's work," said Splash News's CEO Gary Morgan in a post on the company's blog. "Using someone else's only means of earning money to make yourself rich at their expense is most un-American."
Lavandeira's lawyer did not immediately return a call for comment.
Photo: Splash News & Picture Agency
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