Two cases involving photographs of city skylines illustrate what
is, and isn't, copyright infringement.
Both cases began with attractive photos of the
photographer's home city skyline – Indianapolis as taken
by lawyer Richard Bell, and Philadelphia as taken by photographer
Bradley Maule.
But the alleged infringing uses were starkly different. In
Bell's case, Bell v. ROI Property Group Management,
LLC, Bell's Indianapolis skyline photo was used in its
entirety, without authorization, on the website of a commercial
property management company.
Bell, an amateur photographer, won, and won big. He was able to
prove willful infringement because the defendant had earlier
infringed the same photo, and in its second round, the defendant
even marked the photo with a false copyright notice, essentially
claiming Bell's photo as its own. Based on these facts, and the
defendant's lack of cooperation in the litigation, the court
awarded Bell $150,000—the maximum amount of
