Vogue’s parent company sued for using models’ photos without permission

44 models filed a lawsuit against Vogue’s parent company Condè Nast and fashion site Moda Operandi for using their images for advertisement without permission. The feud began in September 2020.

According to The Fashion Law, the lawsuit was filed in September last year in which the 44 models were represented by Next Management. The models claim that Moda Operandi and Vogue openly used their photos despite knowing that permission is required.

The models explained that Moda Operandi took their photos on the runway and behind the scenes and uploaded them on the Moda Operandi website for the economic benefit of one party. Vogue used a photo of a model on the runway and uploaded it to its website with the caption "SHOP THIS LOOK".

Vogue has won several lawsuits. The New York Federal Court decided to reject the lawsuits filed by several models. A memo issued by Judge Colleen McMahon wrote that this case is a “classic right of publicity” and some models are not New York-domiciled, so they cannot be protected by this law. In addition, the court considered that Vogue's Runway was an expressive work, so the court did not question the act of uploading runway and backstage photos as a form of copyright infringement.

The court also held that Vogue's use of runway photos was intended for artistic purposes and not for commercial purposes. Uploading photos of the runway to the website is meant to let them know that the clothes they made are being sold. Given that Vogue's use of photos is protected by the Lanham Act, the court ruled that there was no copyright infringement by Vogue, so Conde Nast could not be held responsible.

The court also dismissed lawsuits filed by several other models because the models could not prove that their faces were shown in the photo as they were photographed from behind or together with other models. Lawsuits filed by the remaining models are still being processed. Even so, the judge was not sure whether they would win.