Trump has raised millions with his mug shot. Legal experts say it could be a big mistake
Trump has raised millions with his mug shot. Legal experts say it could be a big mistake
His campaign turned the defining image into a souvenir. It’s unclear who actually owns it, Alex Woodward reports
Guy A Rub, a copyright law professor at Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, says that the former president could face legal consequences for using the mug shot without the express authorisation from authorities to do so.
“The copyright in the shot obviously does not belong to Trump. Generally, copyright belongs to whoever took the picture of its organisation. In this case, it is probably the sheriff’s office or the state,” Mr Rub told The Independent.
Federal law does not allow the federal government to own a copyright for booking photos, effectively leaving them to the public domain. But that is not necessarily the case at the state and local level, where using such images can be subject to fair use limitations.
“If the Sheriff’s office (or the state) wants to enforce the copyright in the image, it can probably do it,” Mr Rub added. “Copyright infringement can entail various sanctions, including the profits that the infringer, meaning the Trump campaign, gained as a result of the infringement.”
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I hate these kinds of pointless clickbait articles. No, Trump isn't going to be arrested for reposting a picture of his own mugshot. They won't try to enforce such a law against a former president. Even if they did, it's already been shared and reproduced so many times that there's virtually no point in pursuing some copyright claim. All of this is moot anyway, because I can't imagine Fulton County actually gives a shit.
It's not about reposting the picture online, it's about the shirts and other merch he's selling for a direct profit.
Yeah, but nobody is about to sue him for that.
I dunno. I never thought we'd ever see him actually charged for anything, yet somehow we made it this far.
A copyright suit would just be a cherry on top.
it’s already been shared and reproduced so many times that there’s virtually no point in pursuing some copyright claim.
Unless you want the money made off of it.
I have a LOT of concerns over cops suing to profit off of a mugshot. But... legally they seem to be "in the right"
Beat me to it