hypebeast.com/2021/6/jay-z-sues-reasonable-doubt-photographer-jonathan-mannion

JAY-Z has filed a lawsuit against Jonathan Mannion, the photographer behind the album art of his debut album Reasonable Doubt, for exploiting his name and image without permission.

Hov is reportedly suing both Mannion and his company, Jonathan Mannion Photography, LLC, for using the artist’s name and likeness on his website as well as selling photos of the artist for thousands of dollars. The Roc Nation head also alleges that Mannion demanded tens of millions of dollar when he was asked to stop using the photos; JAY claims that the photographer is making an “arrogant assumption that because he took those photographs, he can do with them as he pleases.”

Furthermore, the artist asserts that there are photos of him on Mannion’s website, where other photos and merchandise of JAY-Z are being sold. Hov has “strict control over whether and how his name, likeness, identity and persona are used,” however, and the photographer was never given permission to use the images in any way. Mannion supposedly took hundreds of photos of a young Hov in 1996 for Reasonable Doubt, and he was apparently paid a good amount of money by Roc-A-Fella for the images. The famed rapper now notes that it is “ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce. It stops today.”

JAY-Z is now asking Mannion to immediately stop selling the photos of him and to hand over the profits Mannion has made from his likeness. An attorney for Mannion shared in a statement: “Mr. Mannion has created iconic images of Mr. Carter over the years, and is proud that these images have helped to define the artist that Jay-Z is today. Mr. Mannion has the utmost respect for Mr. Carter and his body of work, and expects that Mr. Carter would similarly respect the rights of artists and creators who have helped him achieve the heights to which he has ascended. We are confident that the First Amendment protects Mr. Mannion’s right to sell fine art prints of his copyrighted works, and will review the complaint and respond in due course.”

thots? it's giving Eric Adams

i don't know it depends on who owns the rights to the pictures

the photographer's merch website for extra context

shop.jonathanmannion.com/collections

Who you know like Hov

the photographer owns the rights to the photos

Hov takes yet another L

Damn Jay petty as hell

rich people are terrifying feel like they can decide to do something like this because you looked at them funny and like what are you gonna do it's jay z

f*** jay z

F*** that, I paid a photographer to take pics of me he doesn’t get to turn around and sell them for profit

You were paid for a job I wasn’t hired to model

EDIT: this is my opinion not my ruling so you guys can stop quoting me with legal advice lol

“Mannion demanded tens of millions of dollar when he was asked to stop using the photos“

yes but if the photographer got the rights it's nothing you can do, should've negotiated it

How does he own the rights? He was paid to take the photos not the other way around.

If he had paid Jay to model in the pics it’d be different

I have no issue with this

bro imagine taking sick ass pictures of an upcoming artist and then when they become a billionaire they sue you for selling them

if theres no "hey i own the rights to these you dont as the photog" then its slimy

let this man make a living selling high quality prints. photogs/videographers always getting screwed like this

theres nothing wrong with that, imagine how many tens-hundreds to potentially millions he misses out on by being able to sell. you want me to stop? buy the license from me

“ironic that a photographer would treat the image of a formerly-unknown Black teenager, now wildly successful, as a piece of property to be squeezed for every dollar it can produce. It stops today.”

like how f***ing pathetic lmfao

i don't know how any of that lame copyright s*** works

Typically for photography the person taking the photo, not the subjects, are the people who hold copyright over the image.

However if this guy signed his copyright away in order to be able to take the photo in the first place he'd be overstepping.

teenager?? hov was 27 when rd came out

hov was damn near 30 years old

I know Jay not tryna say he was a teen when he made RD..... bro is almost 60 now come on

30 the new 18