Newsweek Copyright Suit Over Embedded Photo of Lake Nears Trial

A copyright lawsuit over Newsweek LLC’s use of a fine art photographer’s Instagram post is heading closer to trial, after a New York federal judge declined to determine Monday whether the outlet’s display of the photo fell under fair use.

Newsweek was unable to convince the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule against Elliot McGucken’s claim that embedding his Instagram post containing his photograph of an ephemeral lake in Death Valley, Calif. in an article constituted copyright infringement.

Judge Katherine Polk Failla denied Newsweek’s motion for summary judgment, as well as McGucken’s, allowing the ...