Stealing Michael Yon's Photo

From Ad Age:

"The first issue of Shock magazine isn't due on newsstands until May 30, but publisher Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. is already hearing demands that it recall all issues from circulation. The request comes from a photographer of one of its cover images. Whether that will mean a very rough launch or a welcome bonanza of press attention remains to be seen.

The front cover features a photograph of an American soldier cradling an injured Iraqi girl, a photo taken by Michael Yon, the blogger and former Green Beret who went to Iraq as a freelance journalist. But a posting on Michael Yon: Online Magazine calls the picture's use unauthorized and unwelcome."

From Gawker:

Magazine For Illiterates Can’t Even Rip Off Photos Right

READ MORE: hachette filapacchi, shock

So Shock magazine, Hachette’s attempt to corner the market on readers who find Us Weekly too intellectual, got in a bit of a kerfuffle with Michael Yon, the photographer who took the picture that graces the magazine’s first cover. (The picture of the soldier cradling the Iraqi kid, not the one of Jessica Simpson.)

Seems that Yon didn’t approve the use of the photo, saying in a statement, “I regularly turn down usage requests for this photo — uses that could earn money — because this photo is sacred to me and is representative of the U.S. soldiers I have come to know. It is also representative of the horrors of the enemy we all face.”

Hachette, for its part, claims to have “obtained publishing rights for the image from a reputable photo agency,” and is looking into the matter.

No word yet on who’s responsible for the incredibly hacky headline “War Is Still Hell!”

Assessing Damages:

Hachette Filapacchi is receiving a lot of publicity for pinching this photo. That will have a monetary value, advertising/publicity wise.

Hachette Filapacchi will have advertising space booked for this issue, and will be taking advertising orders this week, based on the raised awareness of their willingness to cheat and steal and shock. That will have a monetary value which is easily assessed by looking at the ads that run.

There is also a monetary value for intellectual infringement, copyright violation as well as negative associations for the Michael Yon brand. This will be harder to assess, but could run very high indeed.

All the money Michael makes from this court case is money that should be collected. The process will be awful, as all court cases are, but I hope he has the strength to carry this one through. An important principle is at stake. The amount should hurt!

And that little girl Farah, murdered by scum wrapped in a shroud of explosives, should not have her image hijacked in order to sell soap powder.

Thank you JS, quite a wake up call for me this morning.