A photographer has filed a lawsuit against a Brooklyn art gallery, accusing it of selling figurines based on his copyrighted photo of Jay-Z.
According to a report by Complex, American celebrity portrait photographer Timothy White, whose 1988 image of a young Jay-Z is at the center of the case. The portrait captures a teenage Jay-Z posed against a white studio backdrop, wearing a red-and-navy striped top, red trousers, and gold jewellery. White’s photograph is officially registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
According to court documents, filed by New York–based photo agency August Image LLC on behalf of White, Brooklyn gallery AM:PM allegedly sold collectible figurines called “Jaybois” based on his photo of the rap icon sometime around 2020. Court exhibits include screenshots from AM:PM’s Instagram accounts, including a page dedicated specifically to the figurines, showing the toys posed at landmarks across New York City.
Complex reports that the lawsuit claims that the gallery not only sold the “Jaybois” without permission but also used White’s photograph on social media to market the figurines, reproducing and publicly displaying the image without authorization. The complaint states that the gallery “copied, reproduced, displayed, and/or distributed” the copyrighted portrait in connection with commercial sales. The suit also accuses AM:PM of creating unlawful derivative works, arguing that the gallery cropped and modified White’s original photograph for use in promotions related to the figurines.
August Image is seeking a jury trial, statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement, and disgorgement of any profits the gallery earned through the allegedly unauthorised use of the image. The agency is also asking the court to bar AM:PM from further exploiting the photograph. Although some of the alleged infringements of White’s photographs may date back more than three years, August claims it had “no reason to know” the photograph was being used until recently, a point it raises in support of extending the statute of limitations.
The case comes after Jay-Z settled a lawsuit with photographer Jonathan Mannion over images that he was selling of the rapper — claiming that he made an “arrogant assumption that because he took those photographs, he can do with them as he pleases.” Mannion was the photographer who shot some of the rapper’s most iconic album covers, including Reasonable Doubt and The Blueprint. The dispute reflects ongoing tensions between photographers and celebrities over who controls the commercial use of their images. Rapper Snoop Dogg similarly argued that photographers should not own the photos they take of celebrities.
“When you take a picture of a n***a, that picture ain’t yours,” Snoop Dogg said in a video. “That’s a mere likeness-type situation. You’re borrowing my likeness.”