Dua Lipa Sued After Sharing Paparazzi Photo Of Herself On Instagram

British singer Dua Lipa is being sued for copyright infringement for running a press agency’s photograph of her on her Instagram page without permission.

What Happened: The BBC reports that Integral Images Inc., a New York City-based photography and videography service, took Lipa’s photograph on Feb. 3, 2019 while she was standing in line at an airport. The photograph showed the singer holding her airline ticket and passport while wearing an oversized hat.

"I'll be living under big fluffy hats until further notice," she wrote in the caption accompanying her Feb. 7, 2019 Instagram posting of the photograph.

Integral Images applied for and received a copyright for the photograph 13 days after Lipa shared it on Instagram. Lipa has since removed the photograph, which can be found online as part of the company’s lawsuit filing.

Related Link: Truly Hard Seltzer Taps Dua Lipa For New Campaign

What Happens Next: In its lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the company is seeking $150,000 in damages along with having Lipa cover its legal costs. Integral Images is also seeking a court order that would prevent Lipa from further copyright infringement actions.

“Dua Lipa’s Instagram account is monetized in that it contains content designed to accumulate followers who are directed to, via link and/or advertisement, consume and purchase defendant’s content – defendant profits from these activities,” the lawsuit said. 

Lipa is not the first singer to be sued for sharing paparazzi photos of themselves. Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber were both sued in 2019 by photographer Robert Barbera and settled out of court, while Jennifer Lopez had a similar situation in the same year but saw the photographer drop the case before it went to trial.

Lipa, who is preparing for her first film role in the spy flick “Argylle,” has not publicly commented on the lawsuit. Instagram is a Facebook FB platform.

Photo: Dua Lipa in a Truly Hard Seltzer publicity photograph from earlier this year.