HELENA, Mont. (AP) - The Republican National Committee and a Montana photographer are preparing for trial over claims that the GOP group used her photo of 2017 U.S. House candidate Rob Quist in an attack mailer without permission.
Attorneys representing the Republican committee and Missoula photographer Erika Peterman have discussed the possibility of a settlement, but the GOP “does not believe a compromise is possible at this time,” RNC attorney Ari Meltzer wrote in a court document.
U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen has scheduled a pretrial conference for Thursday.
The dispute involves a photograph of Quist that Peterman took at a Montana Democratic Party dinner in 2017 before Quist lost to Republican Greg Gianforte in a special election to fill Montana’s vacant U.S. House seat.
The Democratic Party paid $500 to Peterman to shoot the event.
The disputed photograph is taken from behind Quist, who is looking into three bright spotlights while wearing his trademark cowboy hat.
A couple of weeks before the May election, the same photograph appeared in an RNC attack mail with a message that said “For Montana conservatives, liberal Rob Quist can’t hit the right note.”
Peterman is alleging in her lawsuit that the Republican committee did not have authorization to use the photo, infringed on Peterman’s copyright and did not compensate her for her work.
The photograph was licensed to the Democratic party and Quist’s campaign, but Peterman retained ownership for all other uses, her attorney Erin Erickson said in court documents.
Attorneys for the Republican committee say the photo was taken from Quist’s Facebook page, where there was no indication that it was a copyrighted work. Taking it for the mailer constituted a “fair use” under federal copyright law, Meltzer argued.
“Fair use” permits the use of copyrighted work for certain noncommercial purposes. Christensen wrote in an earlier ruling against an RNC request to dismiss the lawsuit that the use of Peterman’s photo in the political mailing “does not favor a finding of fair use at this stage.”
Peterman’s attorney said the maximum the court can award is $150,000. The GOP says the actual damage that can be claimed by Peterman is $365 - a portion of her $500 fee for covering the Democratic dinner.
The GOP has rejected Peterman’s settlement offers of $150,000 and $75,000. Peterman has rejected a GOP settlement offer of $25,000 in cash and attorney fees.
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