Restoration 1, an Indianapolis-based water damage restoration service, has been sued for unauthorized use of a photograph on their website. The Plaintiff is a professional photographer from New Jersey who, per the Complaint (below), first sought to negotiate a reasonable license before bringing this lawsuit with a single claim of copyright infringement.

The photograph of blurry Christmas lights was allegedly used by the Defendant as the header in a blog post titled “A Safety Guide to Outdoor Christmas Lights.” This lawsuit should be a reminder to other companies that no matter how benevolent your intended use might be, don’t ever use images you pull directly from Google Images or you could get sued. A second lesson, probably soon to be learned by this Defendant, is that the “reasonable license” fee can increase significantly after a lawsuit is filed.

Stay tuned for updates.

Sadowski v. Restoration 1 by J&D, LLC

Court Case Number: 1:23-cv-01224-JRS-MKK
File Date: July 12, 2023
Plaintiff: Christopher Sadowski
Plaintiff Counsel: Michael A. Swift of Maginot, Moore & Beck LLP
Defendant: Restoration 1 by J&D, LLC d/b/a Restoration 1 of Greater Indianapolis
Cause: Copyright Infringement
Court: Southern District of Indiana
Judge: James R. Sweeney II
Referred To: M. Kendra Klump

Complaint: