Paparazzi bite back at Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Emily Ratajkowski and other celebrities, taking them to court for using photos of themselves to which they don’t own the rights

Emily Ratajkowski and Dua Lipa are among the celebrities sued for posting on social media paparazzi photos of themselves to which they don’t own the rights

Copyright law falls on the side of the person who captures an image in a public setting – in this case, the paparazzi – and not the person being photographed

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Celebrities like Emily Ratajkowski, pictured here snapped by paparazzi in New York, are being sued for posting photos of themselves on social media. Photo: GC Images

Published: 3:15pm, 20 Oct 2021

Now that the famous are no longer holed up in their homes, the paparazzi are on the prowl – and not only with cameras.

Since June 2021, photographers or their agencies have filed more than a dozen copyright-infringement suits against celebrities or their companies. The suits are targeting celebs who post photos of themselves that they don’t own the rights to on social media.

Recent targets include model Emily Ratajkowski, pop star Dua Lipa, actresses Naomi Watts and Annabelle Wallis, singer Jennifer Hudson, and companies linked to actress Blake Lively, fashionista Bethenny Frankel and the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson.

Counter-intuitive though it may seem, even when the photographer’s subject is an unwilling participant, copyright law falls squarely on the side of the person who captures an image in a public setting.

Dua Lipa at the launch of the Fendance collection during Milan Fashion Week. She is one of the celebrities targeted by lawsuits over her use of photos taken by paparazzi. Photo: DPA

That inconvenient truth has ensnared celebrities in tussles whose legal nuance often is overshadowed by a feeling that a person can use any image taken of themselves – even those snapped without their permission – as they see fit.