During the reveal of the 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro, Apple had to choose some amazing photographs to show what the new display technology was capable of in front of their large journalist audience. No doubt you remember this image, the close-up of the eye in vibrant green and blue makeup. Great picture, but bigger problem; Apple never paid the Swiss photographer to use it in advertisements and now she’s suing.
Sabine Liewald says although Apple got the eye photograph from her agency, Factory Downtown, it was requested only for layout purposes. Apple had apparently emphasized that it would not be used for the advertising campaign but then used it so anyway, and featured it during the keynote address.
Liewald is going full throttle, having filed the case in the US District Court for New York, asking for damages including defendant’s profits. Definitely something we’ll keep our eye on.
This could very well be a big misunderstanding but one that Apple shouldn’t have made. So many photographers use Apple’s products to do their photo editing. Plus, I know from hanging around photogs like Mr. Brennan Schnell and Justin Van Leewen, pulling a move like this is the ultimate slap in the face for the photography world.
Source: Patently Apple
Image Credit: CNET
