Breitbart sued for copyright infringement

Breitbart News is being sued for copyright infringement, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. 

Terray Sylvester, a freelance photographer based in Michigan, filed the lawsuit against the conservative media outlet over a photo of protesting students he said Breitbart used without his permission.

Sylvester says he captured a photograph in November 2015 while covering a student protest in Berkeley, Calif., and posted it on his Instagram account.

{mosads}Sylvester claims Breitbart News then intentionally “copied and posted the copyrighted photograph” to Breitbart.com to “accompany a number of articles on various topics.” 

“Plaintiff [Sylvester] is informed and believes that Defendant [Breitbart], without the permission or consent of Plaintiff, has copied and used the Copyrighted Photograph. In doing so, Defendant violated Plaintiff’s exclusive rights of reproduction and distribution. Defendant’s actions constitute infringement of Plaintiff’s copyright and exclusive rights under copyright,” reads the complaint.   

Sylvester’s legal complaint didn’t specify an amount he’s seeking in damages. 

Breitbart was founded in 2007 by the late Andrew Breitbart. It is currently run by Executive Chairman Stephen Bannon, who recently parted ways with the White House after serving as President Trump’s chief strategist. 

The Hill has reached out to Breitbart News for comment.