Source: Djamilla Rosa Cochran/WireImage / Getty
Cam’ron was fined $50,000 for using an iconic picture of himself rocking a pink fur coat without permission from the photographer.
On Thursday, February 15, Cam’ron was on the receiving end of a $50,000 fine from Federal Judge William Martini. The fine involved Cam’s unauthorized use of a picture of himself, and yes, it was the iconic pink fur photo that’s been a part of pop culture for several years.
Judge Martini ruled that Cam committed copyright infringement by using the picture as he pleased despite not owning it and noted that for years, the iconic photo has been used for merchandise on the Dipset Couture website.
Djamilla Cochran is the photographer who owns the photo and decided to sue in April of last year according to XXL.
“The court finds that a statutory damages award of seven times the licensing fee is sufficient to compensate the plaintiff for the infringement of her copyright and to deter future infringements by punishing the defendants,” the judge said, according to court documents obtained by XXL.
Cochran’s lawyers added,
“Getty Images notified defendants of their infringing activities by mail and email on multiple occasions. Despite those notifications, defendants continued to sell merchandise and continued to display the photograph on website and accounts.”
Thanks to the ruling, Cam’ron must now pay Cochran $51,2221.50 with $40,520 solely for statutory damage. The rest of the fine will be to cover Cochran’s legal fees.
For context when it comes to copyright infringement, although Cam’ron is in the photo, Djamilla Cochran took the picture and owns the rights to it. If you want to use that photo to make money, you would have to consult with Cochran as it is his property. As we’ve seen in the past, some photographers will even sue people for posting their work on Instagram without the intent of profit.
Cam is probably not stressing the verdict, but he’s lucky because sometimes the payouts for copyright claims can be in the millions.
