Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Andrea Carter-Bowman Ltd. v. The Gloss - Complaint
Andrea Carter-Bowman Ltd. v. The Gloss - Complaint
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Plaintiff,
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Case No.
v.
THEGLOSS.COM, a Business Form
Unknown; DEFY MEDIA, LLC, a New
York Limited Liability Company;
B5MEDIA, INC., a New York Corporation;
and DOES 1-10 INCLUSIVE,
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Defendants.
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COMPLAINT
record, complains against TheGloss.com (The Gloss), Defy Media, LLC (Defy Media),
follows:
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infringement in violation of the United States Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. 101 et seq. This
Court has subject matter jurisdiction over the copyright infringement under 28 U.S.C.
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2.
Venue is proper in this District under 28 U.S.C. 1391(b) and (c) and 28
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U.S.C. 1400(a) in that the claim arises in this Judicial District, the Defendants may be
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found and transact business in this Judicial District, and the injury suffered by Plaintiff took
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place in this Judicial District. Defendants are subject to the general and specific personal
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jurisdiction of this Court because of their contacts with the State of California.
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PARTIES
3.
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business in London, England, and is the owner of the copyrights to the photographs at issue
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herein.
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4.
Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that The Gloss is a
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business, form unknown, with offices in Los Angeles, CA, Beverly Hills, CA, and New
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Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that Defy Media is a
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New York limited liability company, with offices in Los Angeles, CA, Beverly Hills, CA,
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San Francisco, CA, New York City, NY, and Chicago, IL.
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6.
Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that B5Media is a
New York corporation, with offices in New York City, NY and Toronto, Canada.
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Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that B5Media was
COMPLAINT
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Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that Alloy Digital,
LLC changed its name to Defy Media, LLC on October 14, 2013.
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Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that Defy Media
DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, are unknown to Plaintiff, who therefore sues
said Defendants by such fictitious names. Plaintiff will ask leave of Court to amend this
Complaint and insert the true names and capacities of said Defendants when the same have
been ascertained. Plaintiff is informed and believes and, upon such, alleges that each of the
Defendants designated herein as a DOE is legally responsible in some manner for the
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events and happenings herein alleged, and that Plaintiffs damages as alleged herein were
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STATEMENT OF FACTS
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based in London, England. Plaintiff Carter-Bowman is a business that holds the copyrights
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to the photographs at issue. Ms. Carter-Bowmans great efforts to meticulously hone her
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craft have received widespread acclaim and recognition. Indeed, Carter-Bowmans client
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roster is decidedly A list and includes some of the most highly respected media and
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fashion companies in the world, such as Disney, Loreal, Maire Claire, British Vogue, and
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ELLE, among many others. Carter-Bowmans experience goes beyond that of media and
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recognized supermodel Kate Moss. With her noted pedigree and ethereal good-looks,
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Lottie enjoys a promising future in editorial spreads, on the runway and in advertisements.
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In late 2011, Lotties modeling skills were evaluated with a test shoot. As a
top-tier fashion photographer, Carter-Bowman was the logical choice to lead the session.
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COMPLAINT
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Entrusted with the task of curating this ingnues first professional images,
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borne from a test shoot, substantial potential licensing opportunities were anticipated.
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together at last by blending fashion, beauty and feminism with a smart, offbeat wit.
Throw in a little pop culture and a healthy dose of absurdity and you get the idea.
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one million unique visitors each month with hundreds of thousands of homepage visits
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each day.
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Defendants have, on information and belief, violated federal law by willfully infringing the
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copyrights of Carter-Bowman to at least six photographs from the Lottie Moss test shoot on
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reproduced, distributed and publicly displayed the Photos, and derivatives thereof, on their
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the Photos. Screenshots of TheGloss.com displaying the Photos are attached hereto as
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Exhibit A.
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display of the Photos, and derivatives thereof, continued unabated for several months.
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In the marketplace, celebrity photos such as the images at issue in this case
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significant cost and licenses these images to various third parties to create highly sought
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COMPLAINT
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including over a million unique visitors monthlyin part due to the presence of the sought
after and searched-for celebrity images. All of this traffic translates into significant ill-
this was a leaked test shoot for the young model. Unilaterally thrusting Lottie Mosss
photos into the publics eye could have massive detrimental effects on her promising
career. Moreover, the exclusive nature of the Photos had substantial monetary value for its
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substantially consist of material wholly original with Plaintiff and which constitute
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copyright subject matter under the laws of the United States. Carter-Bowman has complied
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in all respects with the Copyright Act and all of the laws of the United States governing
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copyrights. The Photos have been timely registered with the United States Copyright
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Office. Attached hereto as Exhibit B are Copyright Registration Certificates for the Photos.
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Bowmans copyrights by reproducing, displaying, distributing and utilizing the Photos for
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knowingly reproducing, displaying, distributing and utilizing the Photos for purposes of
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trade.
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These acts of infringement are willful because, inter alia, the Defendants own
COMPLAINT
Defendants possess full knowledge of the strictures of federal copyright law and the basic
requirements for licensing the use of copyrighted content for commercial exploitation.
Further, prior to the reproduction, public distribution and public display of the Photos by
Defendants, the images were stored on Carter-Bowmans website, which contained specific
terms of use and copyright notice. Specifically, at and around the time of the infringement,
Plaintiffs site stated: "All Photographs herein are the exclusive property of Andrea Carter-
Bowman and may not be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the express
Reserved.
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unauthorized reproduction, display, distribution and utilization of the Photos for purposes
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of trade, including by increasing the traffic to Defendants website and, thus, increasing
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which damages cannot be accurately computed and for all of which Plaintiff is without an
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adequate remedy at law. Accordingly, Plaintiff seeks a declaration that Defendants have
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suffered substantial damage to its business in the form of diversion of trade, loss of profits,
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injury to goodwill and reputation, and the dilution of the value of its rights, all of which are
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COMPLAINT
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occurred by way of reproduction, public distribution and public display of the Photos on
TheGloss.com.
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individual work for purposes of copyright and has independent economic valuevalue that
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The works infringed are eligible for statutory damages. Therefore, Carter-
Bowman is entitled to an award of $150,000 in statutory damages for each of the six works
infringed ($900,000).
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damages in an amount to be proven at trial for the infringement of at least one work.
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PRAYER FOR RELIEF
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representatives, and attorneys, and all persons in active concert or participation with them,
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advertising, distributing, or selling, or any other form of dealing or transaction in, any and
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all advertising and promotional materials, print media, signs, Internet websites, or any other
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media, either now known or hereafter devised, bearing any design or mark which infringe,
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Photos.
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(c) and for costs, interest and reasonable attorneys fees pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 505.
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3.
COMPLAINT
sale of products and services, or other media, either now known or hereafter devised, that
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Requiring Defendants to account for and pay over to Plaintiff all profits
derived by Defendants from their acts of copyright infringement and to reimburse Plaintiff
for all damages suffered by Plaintiff by reasons of Defendants acts, pursuant to 17 U.S.C.
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That Plaintiff be awarded any such other and further relief as the Court
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ONE LLP
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By:
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COMPLAINT
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Plaintiff Carter-Bowman hereby demands trial by jury of all issues so triable under
the law.
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ONE LLP
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By:
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COMPLAINT
EXHIBIT A
EXHIBIT B