$1bn Copyright claim against Getty Images

When Getty Images sent photographer Carol Highsmith a $120 settlement demand for using one of 'their' images without permission, things were about to get messy. The image in question was actually Highsmith's own work, displayed on her own website. Highsmith has now responded with a $1bn lawsuit.

In some cases Getty was demanding $575 for use of just one of Highsmith’s images, despite the photographer making the content freely available to the public. Worse still, the company has also been sending out settlement demands to people who used the images legally on their websites.

For using her images without permission, Highsmith says that Getty is liable for statutory damages of up to $468,875,000.

However, since Getty lost another copyright case (Morel v. Getty) within the last three years, Highsmith believes that the court has the power to treble the statutory damages. In this case up to a cool $1 billion.

Considering Getty’s holier-than-thou position when it comes to infringement, thousands will be cheering Highsmith on to victory.