Photographer and School have Reached a Settlement in their Dispute Concerning the Unauthorized Use of an Image
On April 10, 2023, Pawel Libera (“Libera”) filed a Complaint against the NEW YORK PREPARATORY SCHOOL, INC. DBA THE DWIGHT SCHOOL (“NYPSI”) for copyright infringement.
Libera is the owner of Libera Design and is a professional photographer, he specializes in tourism advertising as well as motion-controlled-time lapse. Libera’s work “was and is widely published worldwide” and “used on TV and in advertising.” According to the Complaint, his work is very creative and explores relationships between form and space and “the unique connections created when three-dimensional space is imprinted on a photographic medium.”
All of Libera’s work is protected by copyright and is available for use by purchasing a license.
On November 24, 2020, Libera registered a photograph that he had created with the Register of Copyrights, titled “Libera_PR_090701_1900” (“image”). This image was and is protected by copyright. On or around July 13, 2021, Libera discovered the unauthorized use of his image by NYPSI, which featured it “as the advertisement image for [the] London campus in the site menu “Campuses & Global Network.” According to the Complaint, NYPSI had never been licensed to use the image for any purpose and is thus responsible for infringing the copyrighted work. Libera stated that NYPSI’s acts were willful and that irreparable damages had been done to himself and his business.
NYPSI originally issued an Answer stating that the infringement had been committed unknowingly and denied all allegations filed in the Complaint. However, on May 17, 2023, Libera filed a Notice of Settlement, stating that the two parties had reached an agreement and that they would file a Stipulation of Dismissal towards the end of June 2023.
Because the case was settled out of court, there was no final ruling on whether NYPSI was guilty of infringement, and the case is now closed.