Gigi Hadid has defeated a lawsuit filed against her for posting a paparazzi photo of herself on Instagram.
Xclusive-Lee in January sued Hadid for copyright infringement, claiming she infringed its rights by posting a photo of herself on Instagram in October without licensing it.
U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen on Thursday dismissed the complaint, finding Xclusive failed to obtain copyright registration of the work before filing the lawsuit — a requirement the U.S. Supreme Court established in a decision earlier this year. Chen declined to allow Xclusive to refile the complaint if it does receive registration, citing an April decision in New York federal court that found such a decision would “make a meaningless formality” out of the registration requirement.
Hadid’s attorney John Quinn sent The Hollywood Reporter a statement following the decision: “We are pleased that the Court granted our motion to dismiss this meritless case. The Court’s decision recognized this case for what it was — an effort to extract a settlement from Ms. Hadid with little regard for the basic requirements of copyright law.”
Read the full decision below.
