Blogger Defeats Photographer’s Copyright Claim–Sokolskyfilm v. Messiah

I’m blogging this case only because it’s one of those “what are we even doing here?” lawsuits. Cases like this belong in the CCB or, better yet, should not be brought at all! * * * The case involves a photo called the “Parker Train Photo.” It was taken in 1962, but it was first published in a book in 2000. The plaintiff claims it licenses the photo for fine art reproductions for up to $5k each. Messiah ran a blog initially entitled “Ask Fashion Kitty.” In 2009, she wrote a post entitled “Style Suggestions for Army Wives” about what a wife should wear when greeting her husband who is returning from an 8 month military tour in Afghanistan. Messiah found the Parker Train Photo in a Google image search and used it to illustrate her post: In 2011, Messiah transferred the blog (including the post) to a new website, LaurenMessiah.com. Here’s how the post looked post-transfer. The opinion doesn’t mention how much traffic that post got, but given its age, I imagine traffic to the post within…