REPORT: LeBron James Sued For $150,000 For THIS Facebook Post
Over the past decade, social media has become part of our daily lives to get in touch with our family and friends. Public personalities like actors, singers, performers, and sports icons also use social media to keep in touch with their supporters.
But behind the glitz and glamour, every celebrity post on their respective social media account is a technical aspect that they often overlook -- the copyright infringement.
Just recently, "The Blast" learned that NBA star LeBron James is facing a lawsuit for posting a photo of himself in his own Facebook account.
Wait; what? What could LeBron have done wrong?
It turns out that the 35-year-old basketball icon failed to get permission from the official photographer who took the shot before publishing it on his social media account.
Based on the documents obtained by the news outlet, photographer Steven Mitchell is filing a case on both James and his companies Uninterrupted Digital Ventures and LRMR Ventures, LLC.
Mitchell is particularly suing the group after LeBron used a photo of himself during a game against the Miami Heat team.
"This is an action for copyright infringement under Section 501 of the Copyright Act. This action arises out of Defendant's unauthorized reproduction and public display of a copyrighted photograph of NBA basketball player Lebron James during a basketball game against the Miami Heat, owned and registered by Mitchell, a professional photographer," the lawsuit document states.
Mitchell claims that the Lakers star does not have the authority to use the photo becuase he did not ask permission and did not pay any amount for the picture.
Mitchell also explained that as a photographer, he was in the business of licensing his shots to make money out of it.
"Defendants did not license the Photograph from Plaintiff for its Website, nor did Defendants have Plaintiff's permission or consent to publish the Photograph on its Website," the lawsuit reads.
The post that Mitchell is pertaining to was posted on LeBron's official Facebook page and has received 1.4 million likes and 92 shares.
The photographer is seeking $150,000 copyright infringement and demanding the professional basketball player to hand him over all the accounting profits made using the Facebook post with the said photo.
Mitchell believes that since he is the rightful owner of the photo, as a result of LeBron's "unlawful act," he is entitled to all of the profit, income, or benefits generated from the Facebook post.
It is not the first time that a professional photographer filed a lawsuit against a celebrity who allegedly did not ask permission to use a photo. Actors Liam Hemsworth, Bella Hadid, and Jennifer Lopez were also filed with a similar lawsuit.
Most of them were sued for allegedly using unauthorized photos on their respective social media accounts. Liam was sued for posting a picture of him while filming "Isn't It Romantic," while Bela sued for two photos of herself in separate events.
