Gigi Hadid was back in court this week – though not physically – on account of a photograph which she posted to her Instagram without the photographer’s permission, in 2020. The supermodel was accused by photographer Ulices Ramales of sharing an image to her Instagram stories of her sister Bella Hadid, which Ramales had snapped.

In the lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York back in 2023, Ramales sought $30,000 in damages, arguing that;

‘Defendant has received a financial benefit directly attributable to the Infringement. Upon information and belief, the Infringement increased traffic to the account and, in turn, caused defendant to realize an increase in her own brand recognition and by extension, increased interest and/or public awareness of her own business ventures.’

Hadid had not paid him a license fee or sought permission to use his work.

In an unusual step on Hadid’s part, the supermodel did not respond to the lawsuit or seek counsel to represent her, and opted to simply ignore it. Her strategy, whether intentional or not, appears to have paid off – the judge this week awarded just $3000 against her, a fraction of what Ramales had been seeking.

In her judgment, Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald noted that Ramales hadn’t provided any evidence that Hadid knew her actions were infringing or that she acted recklessly. One might argue that this is difficult to believe given the number of times Hadid has been sued in similar lawsuits for posting photographs to her instagram without permission. Her sister Bella, who was the subject of the photograph in question, has also been on the wrong side of similar legal battles.

As always, the lawsuit serves as a reminder that just because you are the subject of a photograph, that does not mean you have any intellectual property rights in it and it does not mean you are free to post it online without the copyright owner’s permission.