Credit: Charles Sykes/Bravo
Lisa Rinna is fighting back against the paparazzi agency suing her for $1.2 million.
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star was hit with a federal lawsuit in June after Backgrid USA Inc accused her of copyright infringement. They claim Lisa has been using images they snapped of her on her Instagram account without permission, and the company is requesting a jury trial.
“Rinna violated federal law by willfully infringing Backgrid’s copyrights to at least eight photographs on, at least, Rinna’s Instagram account… Moreover, Rinna induced, caused, or materially contributed to the reproduction, distribution, and public display of the Rinna Photographs, and derivatives thereof, all while knowing or having reason to know of the infringement on her account was without permission, consent, or license,” the complaint filed on June 11 read. “By uploading the Rinna Photographs to the account, Rinna encourages her fans to ‘share’ the photographs, thus, causing others to also willfully infringe and multiplying the harm to Backgrid.”
The docs also pointed out that Lisa uses the Instagram account, which boasts 2.7 million followers, to sell products from her beauty line and to promote her daughters’ modeling careers.
Moreover, the court documents claimed that Lisa was notified about the copyright infringement on February 5, 2021, but she and the agency were unable to resolve the matter out of court. As a result, they’re also asking Lisa to pay their legal fees.
But in new documents filed by Lisa’s team, which have been obtained by Radar Online, the actress is denying any wrongdoing and asking the court to dismiss all the claims against her.
According to Lisa, the famed paparazzi agency has been “wrongfully setting up” a number of celebrities by snapping photos of them and then having them copyrighted as quickly as possible. She claims they did this to help boost their income during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Furthermore, Lisa alleges that any damages the company suffered as a result of her posting her own photos were precluded by its own unethical conduct.