You may remember, not long ago, Leo got wrapped up in Pras Michel's trial over campaign finance and foreign agent charges.
Well, he's found his way into federal court once more, this time over an Instagram post. The post in question, a video, could spell a heap of trouble for him.
From Radar Online:
Leonardo DiCaprio has been slapped with a federal lawsuit over a video he posted on social media.
According to court documents obtained by RadarOnline.com, a company called Global Weather Productions LLC sued the Killers of the Flower Moo
In the suit, the company said it owns the copyright to a video created by Michael Brandon Clement.
The video in question showed the damage caused by Hurricane Dorian to the Abaco islands in the Bahamas.
The company said DiCaprio took the video they own and posted it on his Instagram, which has over 61 million followers. Global Weather Productions said the actor did not obtain permission or pay a licensing fee for the use.
Global Weather Productions’ lawsuit said, “Plaintiff has invested significant time and money in building Plaintiff's video portfolio.”
The company said DiCaprio posted the video on September 4, 2019.
“The Infringement is an exact copy of Plaintiff's original video recording that was directly copied and displayed by [DiCaprio] on the Account,” the suit read. “[DiCaprio] takes an active and pervasive role in the content posted on his Account, including, but not limited to copying, posting, selecting, commenting on, and/or displaying video recordings including but not limited to Plaintiff's Video.”
The company claimed DiCaprio’s use of their video caused the footage to lose value.
In addition, Global Weather Productions believes DiCaprio benefited financially from using their video.
It's becoming increasingly common, and it's not just Hollywood stars who are being affected — regular people with substantial social media followings are getting hit, too.
They're using 'ripped' videos to jazz up their feeds, and now they're facing a barrage of copyright infringement lawsuits. The costs are mounting, and it's not just videos; copyrighted images are also triggering legal battles and hefty fines.
