Houston woman claims rapper 50 Cent used photograph without permission

HOUSTON - A Houston woman alleges a chart-topping rapper used a photograph belonging to her without permission, recent court papers say.

In a lawsuit filed Oct. 22 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, Jennifer Stetson accuses rapper 50 Cent of committing copyright infringement with the image in question.

Stetson explains she created the picture, titled "Claudia," in early 2012 and later registered it with the U.S. Copyright Office, stating she has either published or licensed all copies in compliance with the copyright laws.

Shortly after the plaintiff obtained the copyright, the original petition says, 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, "infringed the copyright by publishing and reproducing copies and/or derivatives of the copyrighted picture" on his Web site, ThisIs50.com.

The complainant claims she notified 50 Cent last month that his usage was in violation of her copyright, but the defendant "continues to infringe the copyright by continuing to publish and reproduce the infringing picture in violation of the copyright, and further has engaged in unfair trade practices and unfair competition in connection with its publication and production, thus causing irreparable damage."

A jury trial is requested.

Attorney Neal G. Massand of Ni, Wang & Associates PLLC in Dallas is representing Stetson.

Case No. 4:13-CV-3110