Sabine Liewald is a photographer from Switzerland who gave Apple permission to use one of her photographs, but only for “comping” some layouts.
According to Liewald, Apple promised not to use the photograph—a stunning close-up of an eye adorned in colorful makeup—anywhere else. However, the photograph was allegedly used without permission in a MacBook Pro campaign and now Liewald has filed a copyright lawsuit against Apple.
This story makes me wonder what digital asset management system Apple uses, and if they track rights management information in it. A DAM could have prevented this issue in several ways by:
- Restricting access to low-resolution derivatives of the photo unsuitable for ad campaigns
- Appyling a visual watermark to the photo to discourage its use in production
- Warning of usage restrictions by displaying rights management information when the photo appeared in search results
- Restricting access to the photo based on permissions and metadata rules
Since Liewald registered the photograph with the US Copyright Office she can ask for statutory damages and attorney fees if she wins a copyright infringement case. In fact, Liewald claims entitlement to “actual damages including defendant’s profits.” Since this is Apple’s profits, actual damages are going to mean big money. Talk about an eye for an eye.
Read more about the case at Patently Apple…
