Altman v. University Press of Mississippi, 16-cv-00883 (S.D. Miss.)
Suzi Altman is a professional photographer based in Mississippi. Immediately following Hurricane Katrina, Ms. Altman was hired by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (“MEMA”) to take photographs that MEMA could use to publicize emergency relief efforts following the storm. Although MEMA hired her, Altman retained the copyright ownership in each of her images. She also registered the copyrights in each image created while working for MEMA.
Some time after Altman took and registered the Hurricane Katrina photographs, she discovered that some of her images had been incorporated into a book called America’s Great Storm, which was published by University Press of Mississippi (“The Press”). In addition, Altman learned that former Mississippi Governor, Haley Barbour, was utilizing some of her images in publicity events in conjunction with the release of America’s Great Storm, and that some of her images were displayed on social media sites promoting the book.
Once Ms. Altman discovered the unauthorized use of her images, she contacted both The Press and Mr. Barbour and advised them of her copyright in the images, and suggested they meet and negotiate a satisfactory solution for the infringement and future use. Although Ms. Altman (through her attorney) sent multiple letters to both The Press and Mr. Barbour, she was unable to reach a settlement with them, and both the Press and Mr. Barbour contniued their unauthorized use of Ms. Altman’s images.
On November 10, 2016, Ms. Altman filed a Complaint claiming both The Press and Mr. Barbour willfully and intentionally infringed her copyrights. Ms. Altman is seeking damages of $350,000 in addition to attorneys fees.