Leibovitz in the news again...

[keithwms]

...this time it appears to be, at worst, an outright fraud; or, at best, a lack of credit given....

Paolo Pizzetti, a photographer from Siena, Italy, sued Leibovitz in U.S. District Court in New York, alleging she misappropriated photos he took and used them in advertising campaign.

Pizzetti says Leibovitz hired him to shoot photographs of scouting locations for an ad campaign for LavAzza, the Italian coffee company, in April 2008. He said he photographed the Trevi Fountain in Rome and Plaza San Marco in Venice and images of other sites for her and sent her the images digitally.

Leibovitz later informed him she wouldn’t be traveling to Italy, he said, and Pizzetti said he doesn’t believe she ever traveled there for the ad campaign. Later, when LavAzza released its calendar of Leibovitz photos in October, he noticed two of his scouting pictures had been used with models superimposed were in it, including the calendar’s cover.

‘Same Bird’

A comparison of the plaza photo shows “the same wet weather conditions, cloud formation and the same bird in the upper left portion of the photograph,” Pizzetti said in the complaint.

“It is clear that the Leibovitz defendants copied the Plaza work authored by Pizzetti and edited it,” he said. “At no point did the Leibovitz defendants convey to Pizzetti that she planned on using his Trevi photograph and his Plaza photograph in the calendar or request his permission to do so.”

He seeks a court order requiring Leibovitz to stop using the images and $150,000 per infringement of his images as well as other unspecified damages.

This is apparently one of the manipulated images....

Dead Link Removed

I linked this ^^^ image from Dead Link Removed

You can read more here.

 

[Pinholemaster]

Inexcusable.

 

[PVia]

The thing that needs to be known is what was in the contract betweeen the two of them and if indeed the images in question are indeed Pizetti's. The other thing is what role LaVazza had in the final product. Before you know that, you can't pass judgement...

 

[Jeff Searust]

Just bizarre-- with all the other weird issues she she seems to be swirled in right now.

 

[c6h6o3]

The thing that needs to be known is what was in the contract betweeen the two of them and if indeed the images in question are indeed Pizetti's. The other thing is what role LaVazza had in the final product. Before you know that, you can't pass judgement...

I agree. We're really short on facts here.

 

[alexmacphee]

The thing that needs to be known is what was in the contract betweeen the two of them

I think that's an important observation. It used to be the case in UK law the copyright in a photograph belonged to the commissioner rather than the photographer, though that's been changed and copyright is normally vested in the photographer. In the past, this meant, for example, that a wedding photographer might own the negatives but the copyright belonged to whoever had engaged him, but now, the photographer owns copyright too, unless a deal has been struck. I think there are also considerations for where a photographer is taking photographs as part of his employment, where he may not automatically have copyright. But as the remark above alludes, it's not always clear-cut, and it's best not to judge the issue until more is known ; undoubtedly it's going to be a court that decides.

 

[DamenS]

Or maybe Annie is engaging in theft to clear her way out of debt ?

 

[keithwms]

All I can say is that I'd love to have that calendar on my wall :rolleyes:

 

[PVia]

Everyone loves to bash Annie, or engage in a bit of schadenfreud (sp?) because she's so successful...but folks always love to do that with the biggies...Microsoft, Starbucks are two examples.

 

[AutumnJazz]

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2009/09/06/leibovitz-lawsuit-italian.html

...what the f***? A $24million loan, for what? I seriously don't understand what is going on here...

 

[keithwms]

Everyone loves to bash Annie, or engage in a bit of schadenfreud (sp?) because she's so successful...but folks always love to do that with the biggies...Microsoft, Starbucks are two examples.

Maybe so, but look, she conducts her business by relying very heavily on assistants, so this sort of thing was inevitable. I certainly don't wish her ill.... nor do I wish any photographer ill... I just don't like her business model nor do I like the way PS manipulation has crept into the work of artists who were previously well capable of working without it. I mean, does A.L. want to be remembered as a photographer... or as a person who puts her initials on computer graphics just to make some money? What do those things have to do with Schadenfreud? I mean, there are plenty of photographers who are better off than A.L. financially and in terms of reputation on whom people do not wish ill....

As for Microsoft, well their OS sucks (speaking as someone who routinely works with many flavours of unix, irix, the mac OS as well as all versions of windows from 2000 through the latest incarnation). As market share well demonstrates, Microsoft is not delivering what a lot of people want. And a credible argument can be made that they design flaws into their software to force further upgrades, and I still don't forgive them for trying to take over java. As for Starbucks, their coffee places below lower-cost competitors such as McDonald's in blind taste tests and it is well known that the only advantage they have is caffeine content and price point... not taste. Personally, I drink Starbucks only if truly desperate and unable to find a real arabica brew nearby. So, in my opinion, those are unfortunate examples that you cite

 

[removed account4]

it is easy to play armchair quarterback when we don't know
what the contract was between them ...
sometimes the fine print may say the work-images can be
used by the person who hired, for whatever purpose they have ...
clearly the images used were not in their original state, and maybe
the images provided to al were good enough that she didn't have to go to italy
and reshoot them. she paid the person what their agreement said
and she used the images as she may have stated she was going to use them in the contract.

the other side of the coin is that people who have a lot of money
tend to abuse people who do not have a lot of money ..
i can speak of my own experiences (that are similar to the photographer who is
taking al to court ... images taken and used without me giving rights of use )
... the big-fish sometimes think they are immune
to any laws, and prey on the little-guy who can't really afford to take them to court ..

unless we know exactly what his contract said ...

 

[keithwms]

True, John. But I am much less disturbed by the relatively small claim lodged against her for (allegedly) using an assistant's images than the fact that extensive manipulation was used. That photographer's claim can be settled very easily- he's really not asking for much, if in fact it turns out that the images were indeed his.

But... what's up with doctoring images so much that the integrity of the subjects themselves are called into question? Is a very sexy lady clad in wet linen not enough to sell a product any more? Is that what high end photography is now? Do I need to hire some pimple-faced teenager to doctor my photos and make 'em more sexy so they'll sell better ? That is the much larger issue, I think. I mean, consider how different this discussion would be if somebody with the talents of Leibovitz had produced the shots on location, with real, unretouched models in real light.... okay the nude lady in the noodles would have been tough but geez is that what photography is now??!

 

[removed account4]

Maybe so, but look, she conducts her business by relying very heavily on assistants, so this sort of thing was inevitable. I certainly don't wish her ill.... nor do I wish any photographer ill... I just don't like her business model nor do I like the way PS manipulation has crept into the work of artists who were previously well capable of working without it. I mean, does A.L. want to be remembered as a photographer... or as a person who puts her initials on computer graphics just to make some money?

As for Microsoft, well their OS sucks (speaking as someone who routinely works with many flavours of unix, irix, the mac OS as well as all versions of windows from 2000 through the latest incarnation). As market share well demonstrates, Microsoft is not delivering what a lot of people want. And a credible argument can be made that they design flaws into their software to force further upgrades, and I still don't forgive them for trying to take over java. As for Starbucks, their coffee places below lower-cost competitors such as McDonald's in blind taste tests and it is well known that the only advantage they have is caffeine content and price point... not taste. Personally, I drink Starbucks only if truly desperate and unable to find a real arabica brew nearby. So, in my opinion, those are unfortunate examples that you cite

hi keith

yep a lot of commercial images look just
as that one does - kinda cheesy
and it has been the norm for a long time
to have the assistant do a lot of work and
the studio head signs their name to it ..
when i assisted in the 80s, it was like that ...
i have a friend who worked as an assistant
for someone who is very well known in the 1990s
and he did pretty much the same thing ...
the only difference now is the cheezy ps
and not the cut+manual paste/collage
or double exposure that might have years ago ..
ps just made it easier ...

starbucks coffee it really doesn't have much caffeine in it at all.
caffeine burns off as a result of heat ...
and the only real thing i see starbucks having over its
cheaper competitors is consistency ...
mcD's and drunkanddonuts coffee can be either ok
or really bad ... and most of the d/d shops near me
tend to be filled with high school girls with "boy on the brain"
and can't give you what you ordered if your life depended on it ..

i usually take mine black nowadays, and they have a hard time with that too ..

 

[keithwms]

We'll have to take up this coffee discussion at another time, in another thread. I'd be happy to administer a blind test during a future workshop shoot

 

[Sirius Glass]

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/artdesign/story/2009/09/06/leibovitz-lawsuit-italian.html

...what the f***? A $24million loan, for what? I seriously don't understand what is going on here...

IIRC AL was financially secure with four or five Manhattan building and her business. She could not marry her gay lover. When her lover died, she inherited her lover's building. Instead of turning down the inheritance, as advised, because she had an emotional tie to the building, she took the inheritance. Thus she took over a variable interest loan on the building. Because she was not married, she had to pay US and New York income taxes. She had trouble getting a loan because of the economy tanking. To get a loan, the lender offered to bundle all her property loans, the building loan and the tax loan, and secured the loan with all the property and her photography copyrights into one variable interest loan. The interest rate went up, the payment exceeded her income, she could not sell off anything, the loan grew to $24 million dollars and the lender took everything.

Steve

 

[billbretz]

Steve-
What is your source? Your statements run contrary to every news report on her situation I've seen- some of which debunk the "gay tax" theory directly.

 

[removed account4]

she had a whole lot of problems hit her at the same time

the whole soap opera is right here
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

gawker.com has a lot of info on the whole thing as well ...

 

[Thomas Wilson]

hi keith

... it has been the norm for a long time
to have the assistant do a lot of work and
the studio head signs their name to it ..
..

Indeed. Almost four hundred years ago, Bernini enjoyed immense patronage from the Catholic Church as a master sculptor, but did little more than add finishing details and sign his name upon completion. His apprentices did the vast majority of the work.

I would never put A.L. in the same league as a master of High Roman Baroque sculpture (sp) such as Bernini, but there are obvious similarities of stature, and production.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Steve-
What is your source? Your statements run contrary to every news report on her situation I've seen- some of which debunk the "gay tax" theory directly.

Go back and read my post again.

Do you know what IIRC means? If not, look it up.

 

[PVia]

Then don't post IIRC stuff, state your sources before you post and use citations/links.

Your post #11 re Windows and Starbucks just proves my point. Siriusly... ;-)

 

[Tom Nutter]

What dos IIRC mean?--I googled it, and couldn't find a clear meaning, but I agree with billbretz; everything I read says the "not able to marry her lover" story is false, in fact, most of the estate was left to Sontag's son, I think.

 

[removed account4]

http://blessingsforlife.com/writerscafe/netacronyms.htm

bion,
iirc means If I Recall Correctly

L8R

 

[keithwms]

Then don't post IIRC stuff, state your sources before you post and use citations/links.

Your post #11 re Windows and Starbucks just proves my point. Siriusly... ;-)

What? Whose post?

Perhaps this thread should be locked and all opinions set aside until further facts are available. Sorry, but I thought I was just serving up some news, complete with citations and links etc., and now this has become rather contentious.. for no apparent reason.

 

[cowanw]

Go back and read my post again.

Do you know what IIRC means? If not, look it up.

Wow I did look it up. I still don't know what it means.
Look this up.
http://www.acronymfinder.com/IIRC.html