HOUSTON — A New York photographer is suing a Sugar Land company, alleging it unfairly used a photo that was the plaintiff's property.
Carlos Vila of Brooklyn, New York, filed a complaint June 3 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against UpscaleHype LLC, alleging copyright infringement.
According to the complaint, Vila photographed a model and, as the author of the photograph, had all rights, interest and title to the photo. The suit says UpscaleHype ran the plaintiff's photo on its website and did not license the photo to Vila nor did it have the plaintiff's permission or consent to publish the photo.
Vila seeks trial by jury, statutory damages between $2,500 and $25,000 for each instance of false copyright management, punitive damages, attorney fees, interest and all other just and proper relief. He is represented by attorney Richard Liebowitz of Liebowitz Law Firm PLLC in Valley Stream, New York.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 4:19-CV-01995