Chris Brown Dragged to Federal Court Over Instagram Post
Dec. 4 2023, Published 7:00 a.m. ET
Chris Brown joined the list of celebrities sued over photos they posted on social media.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, paparazzi agency Xposure sued Brown for copyright infringement.
The company said it owns the copyright to a photo of Brown out in public wearing blue pants and a cream-colored cardigan.
The agency said Brown posted the image on his Instagram despite him not having a license.
“But Brown’s unauthorized use of the Images harmed the existing and future market for the Images,” the lawsuit read. “Brown’s social media posts made the Image immediately available to his millions of followers and to the public, including consumers of entertainment and fashion news—and especially news and images of Brown himself—who would otherwise be interested in viewing licensed versions of the Image in the magazines, newspapers, and online publications that are Plaintiff’s customers.”
Xposure said Brown’s use harmed its business model by, “driving down the prices for legitimately licensed celebrity images and driving away Plaintiff’s actual and potential customers.”
The company said the outlets it sells photos to, “pay large license fees for celebrity visual content” but “are less likely to purchase licenses, or pay as much for a license, when the same visual content will be widely distributed simultaneously on the websites of their competitors.”
The company demanded $150k in damages and an injunction against Brown from using their work in the future.
As RadarOnline.com first reported, last month, actor Leonardo DiCaprio was hit with a similar lawsuit.
The company Global Weather Productions LLC sued the Killers of the Flower Moon star.
In the filing, the company claimed to own the copyright to a video showing damage caused by Hurricane Dorian to the Abaco islands in the Bahamas.
The company said the actor used the video and posted it on his Instagram, which has over 61 million followers.
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Global Weather Productions demanded damages due to the actor allegedly not obtaining permission to use the clip.
The lawsuit against Leo came weeks after the actor’s ex Gigi Hadid was sued over her own Instagram post — which came weeks after the model's sister Bella was hit with a similar suit.
