This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2026/07/06/photographer-sues-waynesville-paper-claiming-stolen-smokies-photo/90788425007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
A Georgia-based photographer is suing a Haywood County neighborhood newspaper, alleging that the media outlet wrongly used {a photograph} he owned.
Steven Lamont Markos of Roswell, Georgia, about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, filed a federal lawsuit May 13 towards Mountaineer Publishing Co., which owns The Mountaineer, primarily based in Waynesville. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, accuses The Mountaineer of copyright infringement for its use of a photograph of a barn within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which Markos took in 2015.
On Jan. 19, 2025, Markos found the photograph on The Mountaineer’s web site, which was paired with an article titled “Little Cataloochee once thrived on apple production,” based on the lawsuit. The photograph had been pulled with out permission from Markos’ web site, National Park Planner, which he began in 2014 to advertise the nation’s greater than 400 nationwide parks.
The web site states that National Park Planner isn’t affiliated with the National Park Service and that each one pictures on the web site belongs to Markos. The web site additionally threatens litigation for unauthorized makes use of of Markos’ pictures.
Markos has adopted via on that risk quite a few occasions, submitting dozens of federal lawsuits towards all kinds of entities, together with different information publications, and accusing them of copyright infringement. Some of these lawsuits led to settlements.
In an announcement to the Citizen Times, Mountaineer writer Jonathan Key mentioned {that a} Mountaineer reporter discovered the {photograph} and included it in an area historical past story as a result of they believed it to be a National Park Service picture that was free for public use.
“We credited both the photographer and the park. When the photographer objected, we removed the image everywhere — from our website and search results — within a single day,” Key said.
“We offered promptly and in good faith to resolve this fairly. Instead, the photographer demanded an amount wildly out of proportion to anything this could be worth, then waited more than a year to sue a community newspaper over a single photo in a local history article.”
In a response to the lawsuit filed June 30, Mountaineer Publishing mentioned that the article was revealed on-line “on or about” Sept. 27, 2023.
“From publication through January 17, 2025 — approximately 15 months — the article received 194 total online views,” the response said.
In a prolonged electronic mail to the Citizen Times July 2, Markos mentioned that after he found his photograph on the Mountaineer’s web site, he despatched a requirement letter on Jan. 25, 2025. He mentioned he acquired an electronic mail response on Jan. 27 from Key, providing an article in lieu of cost.
“He claimed his writer mistook the photo for a public domain photo. My response on February 3rd was 1), no, I didn’t want an article, and 2), the photo was taken from my website and it has a copyright notice on it with date of publication and my name,” Markos mentioned.
He mentioned that he did not obtain a direct response from Key, and his provide to settle expired in 30 days. Markos mentioned that Key responded March 13, 2025 and attributed his lack of response to Tropical Storm Helene, which struck Western North Carolina Sept. 27, 2024.
“This letter made a few legal claims and questioned the validity of my copyright registration notice from the Copyright Office. There was no financial offer,” Markos mentioned.
Markos mentioned that he typically tries to resolve copyright infringement circumstances out of courtroom. He mentioned that information publications are “prolific infringers” as a result of they do not wish to pay photographers.
“All professional journalists know they can’t take photos without permission. You can’t get out of journalism school without knowing that,” he mentioned. “The media outlets know so as well, which is why most quickly settle small infringement cases. … Every photo used without permission is money taken out of the photographer’s pocket.”
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at [email protected].
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its authentic location you’ll be able to go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2026/07/06/photographer-sues-waynesville-paper-claiming-stolen-smokies-photo/90788425007/
and if you wish to take away this text from our web site please contact us
