Michael Moore In Legal Trouble With War Photographer

Michal Moore is about to be sued by a celebrated war photographer over his online use of an image.

Independent correspondent Michael Yon took a photo, voted by Time readers the top photo of 2005, of a soldier cradling a bloody, injured Iraqi girl who died shortly thereafter. Moore used the photo without permission on his website michaelmoore.com.

The NY Post reports:

Yon has tried to contact Moore for seven months to discuss his unauthorized use of the poignant snap, but hasn't heard a word back from the director of "Fahrenheit 9/11." Now, the fed-up photojournalist has told his lawyer to ready a lawsuit against Moore for copyright infringement.

The misappropriated photo shows US Army Maj. Mark Bieger cradling an Iraqi girl wounded by car-bomb shrapnel. She died a short time later.

"The implication on Moore's Web site was that our soldiers were somehow responsible for that kid being wounded," Yon's lawyer, John Mason, told Page Six. "That is absolutely not true. She was the victim of an insurgent's car bomb." Yon said: "I've never sued anyone in my life. It looks like Mr. Moore might be the first." Page Six e-mailed Moore for his response, but he didn't get back to us, either.

On his website Yon blogged about it and asked for help funding his fight:

If Mr. Moore and his counsel continue to ignore our correspondence, we will proceed with a lawsuit.

This lawsuit, though, should not be a distraction from combat reporting; the proceedings should be easy and require almost zero hands-on work from me. But it will be potentially costly. I've never sued anyone in my life. Looks like Mr. Moore might be the first. I told one very important person recently about the possible upcoming lawsuit and he said something like, "Someone should drive a stake through that guy's heart." It won't be that bad, but copyright cases are interesting and we have to deal with them often. If you want to help me as I both prepare to return overseas and take on this lawsuit with Mr. Michael Moore, please hit the PayPal button.

SEE THE PHOTO HERE

Comments

[BartLA]

Give Moore a break. He's been living under the Bush regime for 8 years. He thought it was okay to steal from others.

[BadgersBite]

That made me laugh !!

[JulieSA]

What did Bush steal?

[sbmulqueen]

The Bill of Rights? The Constitution? My sanity, our country's treasury. Oh, and it's soul. No big deal, I guess.

[TheInsomniac]

The lives for 4000 American soldiers. The lives of 2000 Katrina victims. The inheritance of our nation's children. The lives and livelihood of numerous wrongly held "enemy combatants­." Our basic constitutional freedoms.

Should I go on?

[SouthernYankeeBelle]

Election in 2000 with the help of the supreme court. Take to rose color glasses off.

[mikec15]

You guys posting here are so one-sided you can't even open up your eyes here. It isn't about the money, it is about the fact that Michael Moore is showing the photo and implying the U.S. soldier is responsible for their death. Therefore, making the whole photo a sham. It ruins Mr. Yon's credibility if he allows someone to steal his photo and say whatever they want about it.

As for "making money off of war", what do you think Michael Moore does? At least Yon is man enough to get in to a war zone and snap a picture. Moore just takes snippets of interviews and cuts them up at his leisure. So why should Moore be able to take Yon's photo here? Anybody?

[BlackWidowPilot]

I'm going to repeat to you what I've said to another of you fellow Moore Haters Club members:

Or was Mr. Moore's point solely that whenever there's a war for whatever reason, innocent people get hurt, including children?

Moore has rightly opposed this PNAC grab of Cheney's for oil and empire in Iraq, 935+ *Documented* lies about WMDs and debunked claims of connections between Saddam Hussein and 9/11 and all.

This war has cost We The People an outrageous loss in blood and treasure, to say nothing of the sufferings of the Iraqi civilian population caught in a crossfire that was on the overwhelming body of evidence completely avoidable - and worst of all - completely unnecessary.

I have seen what modern weapons do to the human body, including children. What you see in this photo is the real cost of war, whichever side pulled the trigger.

*Why* our nation goes to war in the first place really does matter, citizen, as does why we remain committed to remain in any particular war, or *not.*

Leland R. Erickson

Citizen

[hjfraser2002]

Once again, to the point. Its a shame that people realy don't know the cost of war.

[JulieSA]

How does that make it ok to steal the photo?

[MeltonCartes]

Hear, hear!

[hjfraser2002]

PAY ATTENTION PLEASE. The photo usage of MM was not to emply the soldier did it, it is to make a bigger statement about GWBs war has impacted innocent lives. Stop listening to your media masters, and try some critical thinking.

[hypnotoad72]

Either way, the legality is, Mr Moore needed permission from the soldier (and possibly the girl's guardians) to post the picture. That did not happen. There is a case against Mr Moore.

[jbeach]

"So why should Moore be able to take Yon's photo here? Anybody?"

How about the Fair Use portion of copyright laws?

If Michael Moore isn't making any revenue from this photograph being on his site - and since he doesn't have any ad banners I can see, one can argue that due to increased bandwidth costs this picture is *costing* him money - then Michael Moore should be able to use this photo.

Otherwise, anyone can restrict others from using a photo if they disagree philosophically with the person who's using it - which means, school textbooks have to meet someone's approved standards before they use a wartime photo, or Presidential portrait, etc. etc.

I am not a lawyer, but that's the dangerous direction I can see things going.

[AurigaRa]

yeah - he just cuts snippets..­. it was tantamount to career suicide to stand up to BushCo when
Moore did. Who else was standing up to these criminals? So he has a big ego, SO WHAT?
He is an American hero.

I'd like to hear the whole story here.

[GuyFawkes]

Career suicide? Moore's entire base of support is FROM people who hate Bush! How is criticizing Bush career suicide? If anything, he's doing the safest thing possible, criticizing Bush.

If you want to talk career suicide, talk the Dixie Chicks, who's entire base of support came from people who LOVED Bush.

[martinirossi]

standing up to "bushco" is "tantamount to career suicide"???

in hollywood??

get a grip.

[isis]

If you follow any of Moores' work at all you know that he is very sympathetic to the soldiers. It's their leaders he faults. What is this Yon person crabbing about exactly?

[CAMBEL]

He is crabbing about the fact that as a photo-journalist, he earns his living on phontos like that. It would be the same if you sold clothing for a living, and somebody went into your store and took a bunch of your sweaters.

[underbelly02]

Wrong: it's a fair use.

[StaggerLee]

Sounds to me like Mr. Yawn wasn't making enough money selling pictures of war so he decided to coat tail Michael's fame. It's the American way!

[hypnotoad72]

Pictures of publicly owned materials vs privately owned are two separate instances.­.. never mind the rights of PEOPLE being photographed. If I owned the sweater store, I would have to be sought to obtain permission.

In a public park, or anything shot from a public place (e.g. street corner), that is legit.

If there was a flooded area and I saw a kid fishing in his newly founded backyard lake, I would have to get his parents' permission before submitting any photos of him to the local newspaper.

The lawsuit needs to go ahead, I'm sorry.

To isis: Become a photojournalist and read up on the pertinent laws. Then you will understand. It's oine reason why I won't do photoshoots of people.

[jesuslovesObama]

Michael Moore is an American patriot. Keep us the good work, MM!

[AurigaRa]

Amen!!!

[parlormaid]

Yon can't cook.

[Hattie]

Man, if this keeps up no one will be able to make a buck off war any more.

[django707]

Wow, this is where capitalism takes us. The image of a dying child is copyrighted and exploited for profit. And everybody is arguing about the photographer's (exploiter's) financial rights.

Is there something wrong with this picture?

[JulieSA]

Yon hasn't made nearly as much money off the picture as he could have. He rarely if ever sells it, and he lets people use it for free all the time.

In contrast, Moore made millions of dollars off of Fahrenheit 9-11, which is partly about the war. Moore doesn't like it when you bootleg copies of his movies.

[Drumbum2112]

Once again you have no idea what you are talking about. You have no idea what he sells or does not sell. You have no idea how M Moore feels about bootlegs, you have no idea if Yon lers people use it for free all the time.

[JTHC75]

Yon has had issues with this photo before, IIRC. Some short-lived magazine put his photo on their cover. Yon pursued them but I think they went defunct before he could collect any royalties.

Whatever you feel about Yon or Moore, it is Yon's photo to sell or distribute as he pleases. Moore should just pay up or find some other photo to use.

As for Yon, yeah he's right wing, but his first-hand reporting is top notch. He's very prescient and honest in his assessments, which is nice. He did call the civil war in Iraq long before it became news here, and he was one of the first to note that we were losing in Afghanistan (at a time when it had pretty much fallen off the radar).

[SkareCro]

Unless he got permission from the soldier or the dying girl or her family or unless he plans on giving up those royalties to the solider or NOW DEAD girl's family, he should shut the hell up and quit war-profiteering.

The photographer deserves credit of the pic, but ZERO monetary compensation.

greed greed and more greed.

[Rivermont]

There is no expectation of privacy when you are in public.

[Edmund Metheny]

This is not correct. There is no expectation of privacy when you are in a public place. Mr. Yon produced the image legitimately as part of his profession. This is what he does for a living. He is entitled for compensation for his work.

[MostlyMagic]

Yawn...thi­s will go to court, or not. Moore's company will have to pay what CNN.com or anyone else will pay . . . anywhere from $350 to $1200. Case closed. Yon wanted to make an anti-Moore, pro-Bush statement. His conditions of use were not to pay what CNN would pay, but to force Moore to make some kind of public admission. Moore's right to ignore the guy. Should this go to trial, a judge will order Moore to pay $1,200 plus a few hundred in court costs, or maybe treble damages, so it's 4 grand? Obviously Moore is a target of the rightwing, and nutjobs like this photographer is accomplishing his mission which is to get an article written about his disdain for Moore...

[JulieSA]

Yes, Yon is doing this to make a statement. He doesn't want his picture to be used without his permission for political purposes. It's his picture. He's going up against a famous powerful wealthy guy, and he's in the right.

[jbeach]

Yon is wrong.

Moore's use of this pic falls perfectly under FAIR USE. Fair Use is a recognized exception to copyright law. Look into it.

[ReHoover51]

we were the terrorists in iraq ... we were the cause of the "insurgency" in iraq for all the ignorant policies we invoked without any thought to the iraqis themselves ...
it is horrible that innocent men women and children are the victims here and there is NO justification for the chain-reaction violence WE CREATED ... had we left iraq alone and concentrated on the real problem, 4500 soldiers, 70,000 arms, legs and minds would still be intact, and 2million displaced and terroizzed iraqis wouldnt be in the state they are in ... let alone what it has done to millions of related families across the world and at home here

[quiviran]

The report is on Page Six. What else needs to be said.

[Rashomon]

The salient fact I notice is that Yon tried contact Moore for 7 months and got no response. Unless Moore is just super busy I am not sure why he didn't have time to address this. Seems to me Yon was probably willing to talk about it before going the legal route.

[Ramirez]

The photo has been inappropriately used before by various groups and causes. Yon routinely contacts them and arrangements are reached.

Moore just ignored him.

[bobbyperu]

And how do you know this, or are you just pulling stuff out of your a$$ again?

[amdezurik]

so far as we knoe, and only from what Yon said.

[Rivermont]

Rarely are people just suddenly sued.

Most times a lawyer will inform a person or entity abt their concern/position and suggest a remedy. Many letters or offers may be exchanged between the parties..

If the complaining side is not satisfied with the remedy, that side will seek a remedy through the courts.

[solarian]

yon is a war profiteer

[JulieSA]

Then so is Moore, and so are all journalists covering war, only Moore is better at it. How many millions of dollars did Moore make off of Fahrenheit 9-11?

[jbeach]

Yon didn't have a leg to stand on, and Moore ignored him because he has more to do than answer petulant photogs looking to shake him down.

Moore's use of this pic falls perfectly under FAIR USE. Fair Use is a recognized exception to copyright law.

[poomplet]

Are you "fair use" people INSANE????

Do you really think news outlets use photos willy-nilly without paying the owner (oftentimes (Reuters/ AP...they buy them from the photogs)? Can the NYT use any news story it wants by saying the dissemination of "news" is in the public interest ?

OF COURSE NOT.

Yon is an INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR; he pays his, insurance, expenses, etc. This photo, and others, are his SOLE SOURCE OF INCOME. So what the hull is the Champion of the LIttle Guy doing by letting this mess go public?

[jokerama]

I hardly consider Moore to be a "Champion of the Little Guy." He is someone who exploits media for political means. Funny how those "political means" frequently include a lucrative benefit (see F-9/11). He's nothing more than a liberal equivalent of a Bill O'Reilly or Ann Coulter, both exploiters of media for political (financial) means.

[hjfraser2002]

Clueless and being lead around by their media masters.

[hypnotoad72]

poomplet and jokerama are both right:

It is not "fair use". Had Mr Moore done the right thing, then it would be up to him to make it fair use. He hadn't. It was up to the person pictured.

And Mr Moore is out to exploit - no different than Al Gore. Words vs action; at least they don't pummel their wives the way John Lennon did while he was preaching peace. (look it up, it's the sad truth.)

http://lifeofthebeatles.blogspot.com/2008/07/lennon-in-america-1971-1980-based-in.html
(one example, of many, that cites the truth)

[Clavis]

So the fact that Moore is fighting for the little guy, while people like O"Reilly and Coulter are essentially protecting the rich and powerful and their interests, is irrelevant to you? It's only important that they're both divisive and strident political figures?

The whole point of being a figure that gets attention is that your cause is worthy. You can attack Moore's tactics, but if his cause educating the public and calling for universal health care, while Coulter's cause is confusing the stupid and supporting the teaching of creationism, you can hardly equate the two in any meaningful way.

[freaktown]

whta yon doesn't tell you is that he routinely allows folks he agrees with to use his photos without obtaining permission and he's not threatening to sue them.

this isn't about copyrights. it's about yon not liking Michael Moore's ideology.

[Ramirez]

So what? Yon owns the image and he controls its use.

[hypnotoad72]

When it comes to people, a photographer MUST seek the permission of the one the photographer is photographing. Having done photoshoots in the past, that is law. US law.

If Yon did not obtain permission, he is violating the law too. Maybe Mr Moore can do a counter-suit, the pair of them can go bicker on "The Peoples' Court" and look like fools to keep the daytime masses happy, and both will leave that (bogus) courtroom with a nice payment of $10000 or whatever it is for getting their case accepted by the show's producers.

[jbeach]

Except for "Fair Use". Fair Use is a specific exception to copyright law - and Moore's use falls under it. EVEN IF Yon had all the proper releases for the people in the photos - which it seems that he does not anyway.

[GeorgeP922]

Is Michael Yon an American citizen?

Sounds so, only an American would want to profit off of death in the Iraq war.

My guess in all honesty is Michael Yon is sympathetic to neocons, and this is his way part in chipping in.

I suggest WE ALL put that photo on our websites and myspace pages.

It's a terrible reminder of the pain that Bush put our soldiers and Iraqi citizens through.

Imagine what it would be like to have a child die in your arms.
Its just not fair to them, and top that with Watler Reed.

[hypnotoad72]

How do you know? I would want to be a part of history and show what's going on, with my perception. Especially all the left wing tripe and the right wing tripe, but most of the tripe has been spewed by the left wing, I'd love to show soldiers and tell THEIR stories. They have a say too and thanks to a certain 9 minute youtube clip from Al Gore circa 1992, I don't believe the Iraq war was based on a lie. Not since then. Maybe not relevant to Osama, but not a lie.

[JulieSA]

Your guess is? Go to his website, and read all several years worth. Then you can stop guessing and deal in facts.

[jbeach]

Good idea.

Many Moore-haters should also familiarize themselves with the Fair Use exception to copyright law, so they can realize that Moore's use of Yon's picture is 100% legal, and that Yon doesn't have a leg to stand on.