Woodland v. Hill

Ninth Circuit affirms dismissal of copyright infringement claim against musician Lil Nas X, finding that mere availability of plaintiff influencer's photographs on Instagram does not amount to access to those photographs and that defendant's Instagram photographs were not substantially similar to plaintiff's photographs in selection and arrangement of constituent elements.

Rodney Woodland, a freelance artist, model and content creator who frequently posts stylized, semi-obscured nude photographs of himself on Instagram, brought suit against Montero Lamar Hill, better known as Lil Nas X, alleging that Lil Nas X—who also has a penchant for posting stylized, semi-obscured nude photographs of himself on Instagram—had unlawfully copied 12 photographs that Woodland had posted on Instagram and was therefore liable for copyright infringement. The district court found both that Woodland failed to allege that Lil Nas X had viewed Woodland's photographs on Instagram, and