Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Gay Couple Sues For Unauthorized Use of their Photo

I had heard about this case awhile ago and am glad that the Southern Poverty Law Center is taking on this case.  In what may sound familiar to a lot of you, anti-gay group used the couple's picture in an advertisement without their permission or the person who took the photo:

Tom Privitere and Brian Edwards posed for their engagement photo, holding hands and kissing, in front of the Brooklyn Bridge in 2010. The image captured one of the happiest days of their lives. But earlier this year, their special moment was soured when the photo was used in two anti-gay mailers in Colorado.
On Wednesday, the couple and their photographer filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Colorado against Public Advocate of the United States, a nonprofit that opposes same-sex marriage. They are seeking a court order saying the group violated the law, damages, costs and attorney fees for the allegedly unauthorized use of the copyrighted photo.
You may recall a while back when MassResistance did the same thing to my husband and I and they still continue to use a photo of us, which was in the book "Courting Equality" on their website without permission from the photographer.