Contested model release

Image for illustration only

A mom signed a model release for her young daughter to participate in a photo shoot depicting a child’s party. The images were intended to be used for a story in a magazine. Years later, the girl saw one of the images used on packaging for a small electronic product. She and her mother sued the product manufacturer and the photographer, claiming that they were owed compensation since their image was being used to help sell a product.

All claims and costs of defending the manufacturer and the ad agency were handled by the photo agency that licensed the image to the manufacturer’s ad agency. The court found that since the image did not imply that the model was using or endorsing the product, and since the mother had signed a valid model release allowing any future use that the photographer wished to make of it, that no compensation or damages were due.