Metro Detroit nonprofit hosts “Alice, Darling” screening
Metro Detroit nonprofit hosts “Alice, Darling” screening
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A photographer in California is suing the Detroit Lions for copyright infringement, accusing the franchise of posting photos of quarterback Jared Goff without authorization.
Attorneys for Dennis Lee filed the lawsuit on Aug. 20 in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, requesting compensation and for the court to grant an injunction against the team and its staff from displaying, copying, distributing, selling or offering to sell the photos.
CBS News Detroit contacted the Lions for comment and is waiting to hear back.Â
The three photos featured Goff playing high school basketball and baseball in 2011 and 2012. According to the lawsuit, Lee has been a photographer for over 20 years and publishes his photos on sports sites, including MaxPreps, where he makes money by licensing photos to them. The lawsuit states that he is the sole owner of the photos and was awarded US. copyright registrations for them.
The lawsuit alleges that the Lions franchise exceeded its non-commercial license with MaxPreps when it posted the photos on its Instagram and X pages. The lawsuit claims that the Lions’ posts are considered commercial because the franchise uses the social pages to promote games, players and merchandise.Â
“The license clearly states at the beginning that someone interested in using a photograph commercially is required to contact MaxPreps to request a quote for a commercial license,” read the lawsuit. “No one from TDL (the Detroit Lions) ever contacted MaxPreps to obtain a commercial license to use the Goff Photos, and Lee never granted such a license. The person who purchased the Goff Photos on TDL’s behalf instead agreed to the personal, noncommercial license terms.”
The lawsuit further alleges that the franchise did not attribute Lee or pay him a proper license fee for of the photos. It also claims that Lee lost money through licensing fees by not receiving compensation from the franchise.
According to the lawsuit, Lee is believed to have some of the “only known professionally taken photos of Goff playing baseball and basketball in high school,” and photos of him playing other sports besides football are considered “rare and valuable.”
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