iPhone News Updated

‘The Cove’ Director Sues Apple Over Image Use In iPhone App

The director of the new documentary movie “The Cove” sued Apple Inc. (AAPL) Thursday over an application for Apple’s popular iPhone that he claims uses one of his trademarked images without permission.

Louis P. Psihoyos, a veteran National Geographic photographer who lives in Boulder, Colo., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, alleging an iPhone application known as “i.TV” misuses an image know as “1000 TVs.” He is seeking at least $2 million in damages.

The iPhone application provides information on television shows and movies and allows users to post reviews and rate programs and films.

The image, which is titled “The Information Revolution, 500 Monitors” on Psihoyos’ Web site, features a person sitting in a chair surrounded by a sea of television monitors. The image was trademarked by Psihoyos in 2005.

“Computers and televisions inundate users with an avalanche of information that can empower or overwhelm,” a description on his Web site says.

Psihoyos previously sued Apple in U.S. District Court in Colorado over the company’s alleged use of the image in advertisements in 1997. Psihoyos voluntarily dismissed the case about four months after he brought it.

Psihoyos recently directed “The Cove,” a documentary film about the slaughter of dolphins in a Japanese fishing village that he made with Ric O’Barry, who trained dolphins for the television show “Flipper.” The documentary received a limited release in the U.S. last month.

Apple declined to comment Thursday.

-By Chad Bray, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-227-2017; chad.bray@dowjones.com

[Thanks: http://online.wsj.com]

Tweet This Post 

Comments are closed.