Woman sues Yahoo for using her picture without permission

[zekrahminator]

A former model who now lives in Ohio recently signed up for a Yahoo Email account. This doesn't sound like anything special, however, it became very special the moment Yahoo sent the lady her first Email. She got an email full of tips on how to use the Yahoo account...with her picture on top. She is now suing Yahoo for $20 million USD. She is demanding $10 million for lost profits, and another $10 million to cover attorney fees and the like. The official complaint claims "that the image has been sent to millions of users around the world without Stovall's authorization, violating her right to privacy and right to publicity--that is, to control the commercial use of her identity".

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[magibeg]

Thats awesome, i have to say she is completely in the right in this situation (unless there is some sort of information we're not getting about her). No one has any right to use your image without your permission first.

 

[jocksteeluk]

"No one has any right to use your image without your permission first."

if that was the case people would be suing the newspapers daily but in this case i do agree if Yahoo made profit on this woman's picture then they should pay the woman but not anything like the silly amount she is asking for.

 

[Pinchy]

Yeah,

She is right...but she's also greedy

 

[Protius]

i wish something like that would happen to me

 

[Steevo]

The problem is most of us would think that it was cool that they used our picture.




Perhaps they should charge her for the free advertising? Mebey their search engine found a pic of her and since the name was the same.........




Then again, that would all make sense. So in reality they must have infected her system with sub7 and got her pic (high res) from her webcam and used it to show that they (the servers) knew who she was. Where she lived, and what she was eating. Yep, that was it.

 

[Deleted member 24505]

why is it when americans sue,its always xxxmillion?,AS IF she deserves that much even if she wins.

 

[Pinchy]

I dont think she even deserves to win...i mean cummon, shes a model, she should expect that

 

[EviLZeD]

man 20 million that abit much i would think the highest she could get is 1 million

 

[Deleted member 24505]

i'd even say that is too much as well.

 

[Eric3988]

Trifling ass woman! Yeah, they should of asked for permission to use her image, but $20 million is excessive.

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Greedy greedy woman and her lawyers. Lol. The lawyers want $10 million for this very simple case that is not more than a few hours work. True attorney fees, circa $300. She's obviously VERY STUPID to think that it's acceptable for the lawyers to charge that kind of money. She's probably signed an "idiots contract", like, 'herein, we the lawyers, will claim fees equaly to 100% of your claim' or someother such nonesense.

Anyway, $10m!!!! It's an insult to all the people that go and do a hard day's work, day in, day out, year in, year out.

While she MAY be due some money... I can see no justification for it being more than a few $1,000s and $10,000 tops.

As ancilliary points:

1./ Perhaps she is due NOTHING... since she may have been paid for the photoshoot already

2./ Should anyone get money for the way they look... or should their parents get the money... since, (well its a long argument)

3./ If she had any "jobs", e.g. face or boobs, perhaps its the plastic surgeon that deserves the money!

4./ I jolly well hope she loses the case and a basket of money. She's got her 15minutes of fame... and that's that

5./ Nobody has even heard of this woman... and she's pretty "regular looking". I ammend my first comment. Maximum payout, $5... the cost of a photobooth in the subway station.

 

[Scavar]

She should sue McDonalds too.

 

[WarEagleAU]

Man, too bad they didnt use my picture, Id go for 10 mill total

 

[Completely Bonkers]

You could always CLAIM it was a picture of you, originally, but someone photoedited it and morphed it to look like that woman. Since you were the original art... you should receive the payout n'est-ce pas?

 

[Pinchy]

Id laugh if she didnt win, and had to pay a lot to the lawyers

 

[AshenSugar]

if she looses she has to pay the lawers+the yahoo lawers, and she shouldnt have let people take her picture if she didnt want it to endup being used without her permission, she was a model, that makes her a public figuar, she shouldnt win this.

had they used my pic i would have.
1. asked then WTF where you thinking?
2. told them i would let them use my image and even name for free high speed internet access and an up comming k10 cpu
3. asked them wtf they where thinking using my fatt ass on their promotional emails

 

[DOM]

Wheres the Pic of here

 

[evil bill]

The fact that she was a professional model makes it more likely she will win, whereas a regular person wouldn't. Whatever the dubious merits of the sums involved, modelling is the job for which she is paid therefore using her image without permission or payment is wrong and she does have a case. If we didn't get paid for the work we do would we be happy?

However, this works the other way in the amounts she is claiming - she cant very well claim that the worldwide distribution of her likeness would cause her distress given its probably been used correctly and with permission by many others previously.

 

[Sh00t1st]

What probably happened is that she did a "paid" photo shoot for someone else, than they sold their rights to her pictures to yahoo, happens frequently and the woman should not be able to do a thing since the pictures arent hers to begin with as per the usual contract for models lol. like anyone taking the pictures is just gona take her pictures pay her than do nothing with them?? and not want to make money its like nooo little crazy woman people do not cater to your every little want hehe. i could be wrong i dunno hopefully she looses as thats usualy more than anyone ever makes in their whole life, no one is that deserving of money. and by the way last poster models do their shoots for the owner of whatever company they are working for and in fact almost never have controll over their image thats why they get paid to model. if they did youd think models would be running everything, and suprise they arent.

 

[evil bill]

Oh, I agree. If it turns out that the pictures originate from a shoot where she legally signed over the image rights to the photographer or agency then she has no chance. But if there was no such contract then she could have a case

 

[cdawall]

how did they get the pic dont you have to upload it? for it to show up?

 

[Ketxxx]

She'll be lucky to get half that amount.

 

[Sh00t1st]

yeah lol, its a shame people who sue for such high amounts never realize that the jury or the judge determine the amount in the settlement, unless they settle out of court. which will kinda show yahoo is in the wrong. ya never know with people like that crazy woman, or like the fat people who sue McDonalds or the idiots in their cars who drive while drinking coffee and than are surprised at it spilling on them lol. ahhh people what a crazy species.