In a recent development, an appeals court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a photographer against rapper Lil Nas X, alleging that the musician had copied poses and artistic concepts from the photographer’s Instagram posts. The lawsuit, which has been ongoing since 2022, was brought by freelance artist and model Rodney Woodland, who claimed that Lil Nas X, whose real name is Montero Lamar Hill, had imitated his semi-obscured nude self-portraits.
The court’s decision, delivered by Judge Kenneth K. Lee of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, upholds a previous ruling by a California district court. The ruling states that poses in photographs are not copyright protected, emphasizing that there were not enough similarities between Woodland’s and Hill’s photos to constitute copyright infringement. The court cited differences in motifs, arrangements, backgrounds, lighting, colors, and physical features of the subjects in both sets of photographs.
The legal battle centered around three self-portraits posted by Woodland between August 2018 and July 2021, in which he depicted himself with his face obscured and adorned with chains. Woodland alleged that Lil Nas X had copied these photos in a now-deleted 2021 Instagram post promoting his album “Montero.” However, the court found that while both sets of photos featured a Black man in chains, the idea itself was not protected by copyright as it is a common motif in art.
Additionally, the court highlighted differences in the background and lighting of another pair of Woodland’s photos, where he is shown lying on a stool with his back arched, compared to Lil Nas X’s Instagram images. The court also noted that Woodland failed to prove that Lil Nas X had ever seen his self-portraits, pointing out the disparity in the two artists’ social media reach.
Hyperallergic has reached out to both Woodland and Lil Nas X for comment on the court’s decision. The dismissal of the lawsuit serves as a reminder of the complexities surrounding copyright protection in the digital age, particularly in cases involving artistic expression and social media content.
