50 Cent finally got a judgment in the case involving WorldStarHipHop.com’s owner Q. After 50 Cent filed the suit back in 2009 for his image being used on Q’s site without his permission. It’s a tricky thing when using a celebrities image on your site, especially if you’re as big as WSHH. The main issue Fif had was the image being on the masthead of the site, which led to visitors believing that he owned the site or was affiliated.
Well, on Monday a judge ruled that 50 cent be given “summary judgment on copyright and right of publicity claims,” as well as rejecting affirmative defenses of fair use of the image.
THR reports:
“Defendants provide no authority to support the fair use of a celebrity’s image or likeness. This is not surprising, as a celebrity’s image, standing alone, only evokes that celebrity’s persona. Jackson’s image does not, by itself, describe anything about Defendants’ website.”
