FT. LAUDERDALE — An Indiana photographer accuses an internet radio company of using his concert photos without permission.
Larry G. Philpot filed a complaint on Oct. 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Rockfile Media LLC, alleging copyright infringement.
According to the complaint, Rockfile Media copied and posted Philpot's photos of rock n' roll artists Kid Rock and Ted Nugent on its website.
Rockfile Media operates out of Miami.
Philpot registered his photos owith the U.S. Copyright Office under a Creative Commons license in 2013. Although the Creative Commons license allows others to use Philpot's work, they must adhere to his specific restrictions, he says. For these photos, Philpot required attribution and a link to his website, the complaint states.
Philpot claims Rockfile Media's use of his photos might lead others to think the works were public domain and continue to share them and damage his career.
Philbot seeks damages, including a portion of the defendant's profits from the use of the photo, statutory damages of $30,000 for copyright infringement of each photo and $25,000 in statutory damages for removing his information from each photo.
Philbot is represented by Rinky S. Parwani from Parwani Law.