Photographer Claims Spiegel Distributed Shots to Overseas DMers

Peter Rosenbaum Photography Corp. has filed a lawsuit against Otto GmbH and two companies in which Otto owns a majority stake: Otto Sumisho Inc. of Japan and Otto Doosan Mail Order Ltd. of South Korea.

The court papers allege that at least 153 images sold by the Chicago-based photographer to Spiegel Inc. for use in Spiegel’s catalogs were given to Doosan and Sumisho, in violation of the photographer’s contract.

Spiegel, a subsidiary of Otto GmbH (formerly Otto Versand GmbH), filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2003 and is not a defendant in the suit.

Debbie Koopman, a Spiegel spokesperson, said she was not familiar with the lawsuit, and that as a general rule Spiegel does not comment on pending litigation.

A spokesperson from Otto was not available at deadline.

Rosenbaum has asked the United States District Court for the Northeastern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, to rule that Doosan and Sumisho are guilty of copyright infringement, and that all three companies are guilty of violating the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization Act as the result of sharing the images through a common database.

Rosenbaum claims that from 1991 through 2003, his company furnished photographs for Spiegel to use in the catalog and on the Web site for which the photos had been taken, and in specialty or sales catalogs that were successors to the initial catalog. Any additional use would require Rosenbaum’s consent, according to the contract.

Spiegel was not permitted to furnish the photos to any other entity, alleged Rosenbaum.

Between 2000 and 2003, Sumisho and Doosan used images Rosenbaum created for Spiegel in their catalogs and on their Web sites, the papers allege. They further state that a number of images Rosenbaum created were “winner shots” – images that had proven to do a better job of selling merchandise than other images.

The court papers allege that several Rosenbaum “winner shots,” along with other photographs, were placed into Dacapo, a photographic database shared among a variety of Otto GmbH companies.

For Sumisho and Doosan to hire a photographer to product the same quality and quantity of images Rosenbaum is aware of having been appropriated, the companies would have had to orchestrate a 19-day photo shoot at a cost of more than $1.3 million, the suit alleges.

Rosenbaum’s suit asks for an immediate and permanent enjoinment against Doosan’s and Sumisho’s publishing the photos, as well as unspecified damages and legal fees. It also requests that all copies of Rosenbaum’s copyrighted works in Doosan’s and Sumishos’s possession be destroyed, and that all photographs and film belonging to Rosenbaum be returned.