Desmond- the pose, the lawsuit

http://www.freep.com/arti...-for-a-trophy-in-court
 

But 22 years later, the man in the picture, legendary wide receiver Desmond Howard, has landed in court over the famous Heisman Trophy pose he struck during that 1991 Michigan-Ohio State football game.

Howard's so-called Heisman moment is at the center of a copyright infringement lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

Photographer Brian Masck, who snapped the famous shot, is suing the ex-Wolverine and NFL star, Sports Illustrated and a host of others, claiming his photo has been unlawfully copied and marketed for years

 
I'm used to people "borrowing" our images. But if SI ever did it, I'd be be filing a lawsuit too. 

I'm guessing photography doesn't pay the mans bills anymore.  Time to get dat handout

You're kidding right? Major companies are using this guy's work without compensation. 

and for 20 years the guy has sat there and didn't even bother to get a trademark on it until 2011.  He's entitled to compensation for anyone that used it without his permission over the last 2 years......IMO

Statute of limitations, anyone? At least for Desmond. If other people continue to use the photo, that's hardly the fault of the subject of the photo, or so common sense would dictate. And yes, I realize that the law and common sense often have little in common...

WolvyMike


and for 20 years the guy has sat there and didn't even bother to get a trademark on it until 2011.  He's entitled to compensation for anyone that used it without his permission over the last 2 years......IMO

 
Fair enough. The guy definitely made a mistake by listening to some bad advice. 

Sad. I'm guessing a lawyer got a hold of him a couple years ago and the rest is history.

yeah, he even said in the article he got bad advice.  Who knows how much he could have raked in over the years in royalties.

WolvyMike


and for 20 years the guy has sat there and didn't even bother to get a trademark on it until 2011.  He's entitled to compensation for anyone that used it without his permission over the last 2 years......IMO

I agree with that. Good point.

I swear to God I was just talking about the photographer behind this picture with my brother the other day. I said the guy that snapped this is probably extremely loaded right now. Guess not huh? Hahaha

Is there a statue of limitations or something similar with pictures? I have no clue. 

The biggest surprise for me is that SI would do this. They would come down hard if somebody used one of their images for a promotional campaign without paying for the rights.

I'd want some cash, too...but I think he's a little late to the party.

Go Blue!!

Lets hope this isnt the same guy that took the picture of our Defensive guy hitting David Boston in the air.

http://www.detroitnews.co...over-Heisman-pose-shot

And the fight is on...

Go Blue!!

More from Desmond. 
 
http://www.freep.com/arti...-Heisman-photo-lawsuit
 

So to summarize- Desmond's position is that college athletes get screwed over the use of their image so it's ok for him screw over the photographer.  
 
I sympathize with the photographer here. Most of them don't get paid a lot and don't make anything even when they take an amazing once-in-a-lifetime shot. At one point we looked into selling our game photos but after the rights fee and overhead was figured in we were looking at making less than 25% of the overall price. And get this, the AD then had the right to use our photos at ANYTIME for ANYTHING they wanted without our permission or credit and without paying additional fees. I rejected the contract outright and decided to wait until a more equitable marketplace was available.
 
I also have a little experience dealing with Desmond. A few years back Desmond wanted a copy of a highlight video of his UM career that was floating around the internet. He reached put since we had tweeted about on the UMGoBlog twitter account. The person who contacted me said that Desmond wanted a copy for his family, many of whom had never seen some of the clips. I made come calls, sent some emails, and got a hold of the clip and then burned a few DVDs for him. 
 

Thank you so much! I really appreciate and Desmond does too!
 
From: Phil Callihan [mailto:phil@umgoblue.com] Sent: Thursday, July 29, 2010 9:40 AM Subject: DH DVD
 
XXX,
I just dropped 2 dvds off with YYY.

 
A few months later I asked for an interview with him and from to autograph one of his "I wore #21" books (that I would buy) for a giveaway here on the site. Needless to say his appreciation for the video had evaporated. 
 
So I can only imagine how he'd treat someone who actually asked him for money.