Bell is notorious for suing over his copyrighted photo, having filed dozens of previous lawsuits against a variety of defendants across the country. In March 2000, Bell took a photo of the Indianapolis skyline, and has published it or licensed it for publication since that time. He registered the copyright for the photo in 2011.
According to the complaint, the Defendant created a website to advertise his real estate business and used the photo on his website to help attract customers. Plaintiff claims that Defendant willfully violated his copyright by claiming to own the copyright for all photos appearing on his website, despite not obtaining authorization to use the photo.
Plaintiff has formally alleged copyright infringement and is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent defendant from using the photo, lost profits, and other relief.
The case was assigned to District Judge Richard L. Young and Magistrate Judge Tim A. Baker in the Southern District and assigned Case 1:18-cv-01220-RLY-TAB.