Another day, another example of why it is not worth it to steal someone else’s pictures: Kim Kardashian is suing an app for a cool $USD 10 million for using her picture to promote their product.
If this seems like a case of deja vu, you aren’t wrong. Kim Kardashian is not only very protective of her material but also not afraid to sue people in court to make sure things are done above board.
And, as anyone who has used Facebook lately can tell you, the graphics used to promote products really can include – and often do – anything and anyone.
In this case, a selfie beautification app called Sweet Cam used Kim Kardashian’s picture in a faux demonstration of the app’s prowess which, as Kim’s lawyers allege, is “a calculated, unlawful scheme to usurp, use, and exploit [her] image, celebrity, and universal recognition in a world-wide marketing campaign” and that the app’s makers “reap[ed] millions of dollars’ worth of advertising and promotional services from [her], all without paying for it.”
What probably helped get Sweet Cam in this sticky situation is that the app not only used one of Kim Kardashian’s pictures to promote their app but also used one of her more recent photos from her Instagram account (of all places) that the media star was putting up as a promo for her own makeup line. To wrap that up: Sweet cam not only stole one of Kim Kardashian’s Instagram photos but stole one of her pictures she was using to promote her own products.
There aren’t many conclusions that can be immediately drawn from most stories we cover here but we can safely say that the most sophisticated minds in marketing were not behind this app’s campaign.
FStoppers further quotes the lawsuit, “[Kardashian] does not use, like, nor endorse [the app] and did not authorize or agree to license use of [her] name, photograph, image or persona, in whole or in part, to any of the defendants to advertise or promote [their] products or services.”
What do you think? As always, we’d love to know your thoughts on this story (and others) in the comments below.
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