Palin sued over alleged 9/11 photo use
NEW YORK (CNN) - Sarah Palin and her political action committee are being sued by a newspaper publisher over the use of an "iconic" Sept. 11 photograph.
In legal documents obtained by CNN, the North Jersey Media Group claims that Palin used their "WTC Flag Raising Photograph" without permission when it was allegedly posted on her Facebook page and the website for her political action committee, SarahPAC.
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The photograph, which depicts three firefighters raising an American flag over the rubble of the World Trade Center, was taken September 11, 2001, by Thomas E. Franklin, a staff photographer at the publisher's subsidiary, The Record, in New Jersey. CNN Films recently produced a documentary, entitled “The Flag,” that explored the story of the banner, which went missing.
The photograph has drawn national attention - being made into a stamp in 2002, and later enshrined in the Library of Congress, according to the photographer's website.
Screen captures sent to CNN by the publishing company show the picture on Palin's Facebook page, embossed with the words, "We Will Never Forget." CNN did not, however, independently view the photos on Palin's websites before they were reportedly taken down.
“It’s important to enforce our copyright on this iconic photo," Jennifer Borg, general counsel of the North Jersey Media Group, told CNN. “When neither Ms. Palin nor her PAC responded to our demand letter to remove the photo, we were left with no choice but to seek redress through the courts.”
In the federal lawsuit, filed Friday, the publisher asks that Palin and SarahPAC be forced to stop using the photograph and pay damages or defendants’ profits.
CNN reached out to Palin and her representatives for comment Saturday, but did not receive an immediate response.
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Hope it sticks. Hope it's the last seen of her, for many years to come.
here we go again, 10 year old moderator ... I've quoted with quotes from the above article, do I need who posted the article too ... ???
P L E E Z E-what a bunch of crap. What if someone scans the stamp with "your" photo" and posts it on their site-gonna sue them too??? This is just a witch hunt, a way to intimidate Sarah Palin. Shame on you.
Once again, the Right Wing "Conservative" hypocrites have no respect for – any – rules, yet consider themselves "patriots". They have no respect for personal property and try have been claiming all of our American heritage symbols as their own....
Ironic but not surprising that Sarah Palin shows no concern for the property rights of others. It is all about her after all.
Good lord. Next they will trademark the American flag and sue people who display without prior consent. Give it up people. Moments like these are meant to be shared.
Can we see the photo please?
Good. The same way the KKK was taken down. Sue her for every dime she has.
It's only available on google image search. Are they going to sue everyone or do they just dislike Palin? I get it but, what judge will actually support this?
I've seen this photo countless times in how many newspapers, websites, tshirts, etc. never once saw the little 'copy right' symbol nor a name associated with it..........
Palin like most republican politicians today are irrelevent and again she's trying to extend that 15 minutes of fame she's exhausted years ago riding on McCains shirt tails..Go back to Alaska Sarah you like your party are treading water and will be out after midterms and truth hurts doesn't it!!
Don't contact her just hang this phony, scam artist, POS.
Oh lord this airhead actually is planning to run....... SarahPac?
She's like a high school teenager with her Facebook and Twitter accounts that have no intellect, no substance, but tons of regurgitated, copyrighted material which purport her to be an "all American".
they should sue her for just being sarah. What a ding dong
How hard would it have been to get permission? Even with only two years of political leadership, she should have known.
Should I be careful what images I share via social media, so that I don't get sued? Or are there different ruled more Sarah Palin than there are for me?
That's pretty lame, I hate Palin, but that is just lame, it sickens me that someone is actually making money off that photo, or any 9/11 photos.
That's pretty lame, I hate Palin, but that is just lame, it sickens me that someone is actually making money off that photo, or any 9/11 photos. Some things just shouldn't be used for profit.
So are they going to sue everybody that has that photo on their FaceBook page or just Sarah Palin ? ? ?
How terrible is this… To use this image for political capitalization, not to mention the use of the image without permission. Mrs. Palin this is disgraceful and you are truly and ugly individual.
Worthless human being that just doesn't have the class to go away and stay away. I guess stupidity is terminal.
Stealing the product of somebody else's work to try to profit off of the 9-11 tragedy.
That's about as Republican as you can get.
"Should I be careful what images I share via social media, so that I don't get sued? Or are there different ruled more Sarah Palin than there are for me?"
Social Media, unlikely. Having it on your a major website, absloutely.
Ridiculous when we get caught but absolutely the letter of the law if it's anyone else. Typical would be an overstatement at this point.