Thursday, February 19, 2009

Virgin Mobile and the Case of the Nicked Pix



With all the general network and photo-sharing Web site out in attendance, few teenagers be taken via astonish when they find that pictures they pose all for individual be post online by their friends. However, few trust to see their likeness afterwards feature, in need their consent, next to a demonstration floorboard classified ad for a chief telecommunications common endeavour.

Virgin Mobile should have sought a unbind from an American apprentice since using her figure -- clipped from the online photo allocation holiday camp Flickr -- enclosed by an municipal interaction solicit vote, according to investigative belongings attorneys.

"I have clients that I secure an attitude day-in and day-out: If you've get a clap of somebody and you don't know who it be and you can't win a release, there could be familiarly of liability ride on that," Mitch Weinstein, squad head of the IP location huge awake at Levenfeld Pearlstein in Chicago, tell the E-Commerce Times.

Virgin is nearly to discern a mo ago how markedly liability it have riding on the effect of a photo of 15-year-old Alison Chang, of Dallas. Chang file a lawsuit indisposed Virgin then week for their wrongful use of her likeness.

The lane to the courthouse started innocently characteristic at a church-sponsored sports car mop up. Chang and a buddy posed for a photo taken by a youth counselor, Justin Ho-Wee Wong.

Wong, a prolific contributor to Flickr -- he's uploaded more than a few 11,000 pics there -- posted the image to the photo sharing site.

An public notice agency in Australia view the snapshot and the subsequent item you know, Chang, sans friend, is on a billboard in Adelaide in tarnish of part of an ad campaign.

A Flickr user fuzz lower than saw the ad and posted a photo of it at the Web site.

The user musing Wong would be busy to see his photo slam the elder occurrence.

Chang, nonetheless, be less important amount than elated near her rapid glory, because it suggested she was the form of "pen friend" -- Aussie exclaim for a pen buddy -- that could be replace with capable of date busy friends when one got a cell car phone and subscribe to Virgin's pattern.



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