Report: LeBron James Facing Copyright Lawsuit Over Cropped Photograph

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has to deal with a copyright lawsuit over a photograph. Michael McCann from Sports Illustrated was the first to report the case. New York copyright attorney Richard Liebowitz has filed a complaint on behalf of Steve Mitchell. He used the photo of LeBron’s dunk over Miami Heat player Meyers Leonard. The dunk took place in the game between LA and Miami in South Beach in December.

King James shared the cropped version of the pic on his Facebook page. This move earned him a lawsuit.

“The defendants are accused of infringing’s Mitchell copyright by reproducing and publicly displaying the photograph without the photographer’s consent. Mitchell demands a jury trial to assess whether Section 501 of the federal Copyright Act was violated. He seeks damages that would reflect profits, income, receipts and other benefits derived by James and his co-defendants or, in the alternative, damages of up to $150,000 per infringement. Judge Ronnie Abrams, a former federal prosecutor and adjunct professor at Columbia Law School, is presiding over the litigation.”

There have been similar cases in the history of basketball. LeBron won’t be the first player to deal with such a thing. Other players have faced a lawsuit for a lot less than this.

LeBron will take care of the lawsuit

Well, LeBron has plenty of time to deal with this lawsuit as the NBA has decided to suspend the regular season. Just kidding. He has a lawsuit hanging around his neck. That’s more than terrible. It’s horrible and frustrating.

When it comes to the suspension, the NBA decided to make this move after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus. At least five Brooklyn Nets players have the virus. Lakers players played against the Nets. Two players have it, and they don’t have any symptoms at the moment. The players sit in quarantine, and the team’s doctor is taking care of them. JaVale McGee and Quinn Cook don’t have the virus. We don’t know the names of the players infected with the coronavirus.

Hopefully, April will be a better month for LeBron. He’s got a lawsuit to take care of.