Mannion v. Coors Brewing Co.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
377 F. Supp. 2d 444 (2006)
Mannion (plaintiff), hired to photograph athlete Kevin Garnett for a magazine spread, created a distinctive image combining Garnett's all-white clothing and jewelry (which Garnett selected per Mannion's instructions), pose, camera angle, lighting, and background; CHWA (defendant), hired by Coors (defendant) to create billboards, obtained permission to use Mannion's photo only for a preliminary pitch but ultimately hired a different photographer to recreate a substantially similar image using the same clothing, pose, angle, lighting, and background. Mannion sued for copyright infringement, and both sides moved for summary judgment.
Whether, for copyright purposes, the originality of a photograph derives from the photograph's rendition, the photograph's timing, or the author's creation of the subject.