Sony Music Publishing (SMP) is facing a copyright infringement lawsuit after allegedly using a photograph of legendary singer Stevie Wonder on Instagram without obtaining permission from the photographer.
The lawsuit was filed on Sunday, November 8, by photographer Alan Satterwhite, who claims the music publishing giant used one of his photographs of Wonder, originally taken in 1974, without securing the necessary licence.
According to Billboard, which first reported the lawsuit, the disputed image was included in a 2023 Instagram carousel published by Sony Music Publishing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Wonder’s classic album Innervisions.
Released in 1973, Innervisions remains one of Wonder’s most celebrated projects. The album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart and spent an impressive 89 weeks on the ranking.
Satterwhite, who photographed Wonder sitting at a piano during a 1974 session, alleges that Sony Music Publishing failed to obtain a licence before sharing the image with its Instagram audience.
In court documents cited by Billboard, the photographer argues that the unauthorised use damaged the commercial value of his work.
The lawsuit states that the alleged infringement “has harmed, and continues to harm, the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work by robbing Plaintiff of his exclusive right to license the copyrighted work for illustrative and other purposes.”
Satterwhite is seeking up to US$150,000 in statutory damages, the maximum available for a single work in cases of wilful copyright infringement under US law.
A spokesperson for Sony Music Publishing declined to comment on the legal proceedings.
The photographer has previously pursued several copyright infringement cases involving unauthorised uses of his celebrity photographs. His past legal actions have involved images of Stevie Wonder, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mel Brooks.
Among the organisations previously named in lawsuits brought by Satterwhite are Amazon, Complex, CBS Radio and Berklee College of Music.
