Hustler Sued By Ohio Newscaster
Woman claims published photographs from a wet T-shirt contest are copyright violation.
By: Sherri L. Shaulis
Posted: 03/11/2008
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A newscaster with TV station WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio,
has filed a lawsuit against Hustler Inc. and LFP Inc., claiming photographs
published in the February 2006 issue of
Hustler
constitute copyright violation.
The suit was filed in the U.S.
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
Catherine Balsley, who uses
the professional name Catherine Bosley, participated in a wet T-shirt contest
in Florida in
2003 while on vacation with her husband Richard Brown, who is also a plaintiff
in the suit.
During the contest, Balsley
and several other participates stripped down, and video and photographs of the
incident were later distributed on several websites. Balsley successfully sued photographers
from the event for ownership of the photographs and the video and registered
copyrights for them in 2004.
At the time, Balsley was a
mid-day anchor for TV station WKBN in Youngstown,
Ohio, located roughly 90 miles southeast of Cleveland. She later
resigned from that position because of publicity surrounding the contest and
the online publication of the photos and video. She began working for the Cleveland station in
April 2005.
Hustler, in
its monthly "Hot News Babe" feature, published a photograph from the contest in
its February 2006 issue without Balsley's consent or knowledge, she claims in the
suit.
In addition to the direct
infringement, the defendants engaged in contributory infringement with their
"Hot News Babe" promotion, the complaint states. By asking Hustler readers to nominate newscasters and provide pictures, Hustler Inc. and
LFP Inc. are offering an incentive for engaging in infringing activities, the claim argues.
Bosley, who is now a
mid-morning and weekend anchor with the Cleveland
station, was not available for comment as of this posting. Larry Flynt, owner
of Hustler Inc. and LFP Inc., was not immediately available for comment, said
his publicist Kristine Coman.
Bosley and Brown have asked
for punitive damages in the amount of $1 million, as well as $150,000 for each copyright
infringement, $10,000 for each violation of Balsley's right to publicity and
attorney's fees.
