- Henry Park
Justice delayed
Gigi Hadid delayed the inevitable. Earlier this year, she was sued for posting a copyrighted image on herself to her Instagram account (Xclusive-Lee, Inc. v. Jelena Noura “Gigi” Hadid, 1:19-cv-00520 (E.D.N.Y.)) (a copy of the Complaint is hosted on Mega.nz).
Unfortunately for the plaintiff, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.com, LLC (139 S.Ct. 881 (2019)) soon after the plaintiff filed the complaint (see Google Scholar link). In Fourth Estate, the Supreme Court ruled that a copyright holder must have a copyright registration certificate before they can file a lawsuit. Because the plaintiff did not have a copyright registration certificate when it filed the lawsuit, the case was dismissed.
Thus, the real question of whether Gigi infringed the copyrighted image was delayed.
Image is from Exhibit 1 to the Complaint.