American Photography Student to Sue Polish Clothing Label for Copyright Infringement

A 19-year old American photography student Rockie Nolan is planning to sue the Polish clothing brand Reserved for copyright infringement, after Reserved reproduced her photograph on their T-shirt collection without her authorization.

The photograph was allegedly taken from deviantART, an online artist community. One of its members recognized the image on a Reserved T-shirt and informed Nolan about the infringement. After Nolan approached the clothing chain, the company publicly apologized to her on its Facebook page and offered USD 150 (EUR 117) to buy the rights to her photograph. They also offered to buy six more of her photographs for commercial use. Nolan, a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, declined the offer saying it cannot justify the fact that they illegally reproduced her work of art and profited from it.

Reserved, owned by LLP, the biggest clothing chain store in Poland, has sold around 2,000 shirts with Nolan’s photo. LPP, also the owner of Cropp, House and Mohito brands, is based in Gdansk, Poland, with stores in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Russia, the Baltic States, Ukraine and Romania.

For more information, please contact Masa Lopicic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Polskie Radio