Lake Photo IP Suit Revived in Ninth Circuit Fair Use Ruling (2)

Photographer Elliott McGucken’s copyright infringement lawsuit over his photos of a lake formed in Death Valley was revived on Wednesday by the Ninth Circuit, which held that Pub Ocean Ltd. couldn’t invoke a fair use defense when it used the photos in an article.

The four factors that determine fair use of a copyrighted work “pointed unambiguously” in favor of McGucken, the appeals court said, so a federal judge in California incorrectly granted Pub Ocean summary judgment.

McGucken has been at the center of other high-profile copyright complaints against publications such as Newsweek LLC and Barstool Sports Inc. His lawsuit ...