Photographer Brynn Burns Sues Realtor.com Over Unauthorized Use of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Engagement Photos
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's engagement photos made waves on Instagram in August, sparking new trends in photography. Photographer Brynn Burns claims that Realtor.com used her photos of Kelce's mansion without permission, taking advantage of the buzz surrounding Swift and Kelce's engagement.
Burns took photos of the mansion before Kelce purchased it and before he proposed to Swift. She alleges in a lawsuit that Realtor.com, operated by Move, Inc. and the National Association of Realtors (NAR), used her images of the estate to attract visitors to their website without her consent.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Missouri, accuses Realtor.com of using Burns' photos of Kelce's home without authorization. Burns claims that Realtor.com's actions devalued her work by making it freely available to the public.
Realtor.com had previously licensed the photos from Burns, but she alleges that the agreement had expired before they were used in stories related to Swift and Kelce's engagement. Despite removing the images from their articles, archived versions show that they were credited to Brynn Burns during the peak of the engagement frenzy.
Photographer Brynn Burns is seeking unspecified damages and a jury trial in response to the alleged unauthorized use of her images by Realtor.com. Realtor.com declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, while NAR clarified that they are not involved in Move's editorial decisions or the operation of the Realtor.com website.
In conclusion, the legal dispute between photographer Brynn Burns and Realtor.com highlights the importance of respecting intellectual property rights in the digital age. Unauthorized use of creative work can have significant consequences for artists and creators, impacting the commercial value of their work.