Cam’ron has been sued for allegedly profiting off a famous pink fur photo of himself without permission.
According to court documents obtained by XXL, photographer Djamilla Rosa Cochran filed a lawsuit against the Harlem rapper and Dipset Couture LLC for copyright infringement, claiming she owns the copyright to the image.
The photo in question was taken at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in February 2003 and shows Cam’ron wearing a pink fur coat and matching hat while holding a pink flip phone.
“Defendant Dipset Couture LLC, without permission or authorization from Plaintiff, actively copied and displayed the Photograph on the Website as part of various product listings (‘Merchandise Listings’) and engaged in this misconduct knowingly and in violation of the United States copyright laws,” the lawsuit reads.
“Getty Images notified defendants of their infringing activities by mail and email on multiple occasions. Despite those notifications, defendants continued to sell merchandise and continued to display the photograph on website and accounts.”
Cochran is asking for a jury trial and seeking damages, including all profits that Cam’ron has made off the merch.
During an appearance on Kevin Durant’s Boardroom podcast in February, Cam’ron talked about the origins of the coat and how much his Fashion Week appearance put it on the map.
“I purchased that jacket probably 20 years ago at a store called Apollo Signature in Harlem on 125th Street,” he said. “[I’ve worn it] maybe three [times]. I haven’t worn it a lot. You know, it got a lot of attention. I bought it to wear to Fashion Week one year and after that it got wild attention so I put it away.
“The coat got its own personality — people wanna put it in museums. People call me, ‘Could you bring it with you?’ ‘We’re having a fur exhibition, can you bring your jacket?’ ‘We’re doing a Hip Hop museum, we wanna put it in there, can we run it?’”
He added: “So, the fur comes out once in a while if it make sense. But you know, for the Drake show being at the Apollo, I thought it would be cool to bring out.”
Cam also revealed he turned down a $300,000 offer for the jacket. He isn’t against selling it completely, but it would have to go to someone who appreciates its history.
“The people who offered it to me, I didn’t feel they deserved it,” Cam said. “It was more of a stat to them like, ‘I bought Cam’s jacket.’ It wasn’t really like they appreciated where that jacket came from.
“If it makes sense to sell it to somebody who would appreciate it or put it where it’s gonna be seen and be stored that people know it’s my jacket, cool.
There needs to be a limit on how many years you can go back and sue people. Dude wore this jacket 23 years ago. People get broke and then think of ways to sue to get money. People are attempting to sue Bill Cosby for alleged crimes in the 60’s. C’mon Bruh.
Copyright infringement is big shit, no matter how long ago that picture was taken. Go ahead and knock off some Disney shit, and see what happens. Just because he’s the focus of the picture doesn’t mean he owns the copyright, nor should he, unless he’s paid for that image. Law is law.
And if you raped someone, no matter when it happened, you still RAPED someone, don’t pull that fucking statue of limitations shit. They are still jailing Nazis from their time as bookkeepers and guards and whatnot, from the ’40’s. Mr. Pudding Pop should be held accountable for his Huckstable rape parties.
Wow… are u seriously referring to rape and nazi’s to an iconic pic.. tru law Is law but how do u own someone’s likeness and image? And to ask for all proceeds from merch on said pic is ridiculous… u took a photo get a life…