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Model Suing Apple Over Stolen iPhoto Pictures

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

Girl suing Apple and app developer after pictures of her appeared in a saucy App Store application.

Aspiring model Rebecca Battino, 19, says the photos she took of herself when she was 16-years-old were used without her permission in 'eXtreme Cam Girls' and the New York Post reports that the photos have spread 'like a virus to dozens of flesh sites' across the web. Battino says the pictures were stolen from her computer but refused to discuss who might have stolen them or how they may have gone about it.

Neither Apple nor Samba Studios have commented on the million dollar lawsuit filed by Battino last week. However, Ms. Battino has made her motives for the lawsuit very clear and isn't, as most would assume, uncomfortable with her private photos appearing in sexy apps.  

"I was just upset that I'm not being paid for my pictures," she told the New York Post. "I'm not embarrassed."

Source: NYPost

*Image via Facebook

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geminireaper 10/27/2010 3:29 AM
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Shadow703793 10/27/2010 3:35 AM
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geminireaper :
People will sue for anything now wont they.


Yes they would.

Anonymous 10/27/2010 3:45 AM
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How on earth do you equate being the victim of theft as being dumb?

nuke_meltdown 10/27/2010 3:48 AM
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Anonymous 10/27/2010 3:50 AM
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umm, did you actually read the article? It has nothing to do with the manufacturer of her computer or anything like that. She is suing the particular app developer for using her picture without her permission and is suing Apple for distributing said application and thus her picture.

Thats all it is.

Anonymous 10/27/2010 3:53 AM
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Khimera2000 10/27/2010 3:55 AM
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LOL i can see the headline after this... "apple settles law suit with aspiring porn star over illegal distrebuited pictures" thats definatly one funny PR mess.

eddieroolz 10/27/2010 3:55 AM
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dogman_1234 10/27/2010 4:04 AM
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I am gonna sue people who sue people who sue people...

hellwig 10/27/2010 4:05 AM
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Renegade_Warrior :
Even dumber.....She admits that she shot the photos of herself when she was 16Can anyone say under age minor?A can of worms may have been opened just by her having admitted the aged at which the photos were taken, which in turn could possibly get her in a heap of trouble.


I'm not sure she could get in trouble, there's no law against taking pictures of yourself. However, anyone distributing those photos could get in trouble (she said they were stolen, she didn't distribute them).

I don't know about the dollar amount, but I think she might have a case here if the pictures are being used without her consent. Remember, just because someone posts pictures in a publicly available setting doesn't mean they are fair-use. In fact, Tom's could get in trouble for distributing a pic of her they found on Facebook. Copyright applies to published and non published works. That's why you get those stupid disclaimers at the start of sports events, just because they're airing a football game over the air on Fox doesn't mean you can copy it and sell videos of it.

Khimera2000 10/27/2010 4:08 AM
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Renegade_Warrior :
Even dumber.....She admits that she shot the photos of herself when she was 16Can anyone say under age minor?A can of worms may have been opened just by her having admitted the aged at which the photos were taken, which in turn could possibly get her in a heap of trouble.



how would she get in trouble. she already told them it was stolen pics. it will just add more flames to apple and samba becaus now there posting underaged pictures for millions to see. check it out i know its half way down the document... and might be along read but you will get to the line where she says it was stolen dont worry.

COLGeek 10/27/2010 4:09 AM
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Spanky Deluxe 10/27/2010 4:23 AM
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Seems like quite clever self marketing to me. I wonder how many people have now googled her.

Anonymous 10/27/2010 4:24 AM
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pocketdrummer 10/27/2010 4:32 AM
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Anonymous 10/27/2010 4:33 AM
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garyshome 10/27/2010 4:42 AM
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Lawyers have to eat too.

The Greater Good 10/27/2010 4:42 AM
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sykozis 10/27/2010 5:10 AM
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As long as she's the photographer and didn't knowingly distribute the pictures, it doesn't matter what she's wearing or not wearing as they'd be deemed "art" until the point that they're willfully distributed by her.

geminireaper :
so wait..she was dumb enough to take the pictures. then she was even dumber for getting them stolen so now she is going to sue the manufacturer of her computer and the software company that helps develop software. People will sue for anything now wont they.



Fact is, in the US she owns ALL rights to her image without a written contract giving away usage rights to said image. Also, it's illegal to knowingly and willfully use someone's image without their conscent....or, in the case of a minor, the parents' conscent. If the pictures are sexually explicit in nature Apple and Samba can be charged with posession and distribution of child pornography

jupiter optimus maximus 10/27/2010 5:27 AM
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If she was a little smarter and thought long term, she could have applied as a model instead of suing Apple. Fashion designers are fanatic about apple, they won't take this lady lightly if she ever comes on their door steps.

thecapulet 10/27/2010 5:36 AM
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The Greater Good :
It's funny when chicks take slutty pics then get mad when someone posts them on the Net. HELLO WOMEN!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME!!!?? IF YOU DON'T WANT THESE PICS ON THE NET, DO NOT TAKE THEM!!! It's that easy.


Your caps-lock privileges have been revoked.

I really don't understand how you guys are bashing this girl as stupid. She's a model.(or so the article says). She sells images of herself for a living. A company used images of her without payment or permission. She's suing them, as any model in the business would.

If this were Tyra Banks, this would have been an apple bashing comment section instead. You guys need to find some common sense.

tacoslave 10/27/2010 5:45 AM
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rohitbaran 10/27/2010 5:57 AM
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ct1615 10/27/2010 6:56 AM
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wait a minute you idiots, this no publicly stunt. she has every right to sue, someone is making money off her image and she is not getting a dime. As someone who works with rights for images, I'm familiar with these types of issues. You would not beleive how many idiots just use an image for a product when they have no legal right.

Basically Samba took her image off the web hoping to use it for free, it doesn't work like that. It's no different then using a picture of Michael Jordan to endorse your product when you have no contract to. Apple is named since they host the app, plus it puts pressure on them to pull it off the app store and cut off Samba revenue.

liveonc 10/27/2010 7:31 AM
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NuclearShadow 10/27/2010 7:35 AM
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She has every right to sue. It is her photo and due to the digital millenium copyright act
the photo is copyrighted and thus legally hers. So any company that profits from this
photo or uses it is breaking copyright laws. Also anyone who profits from the
copyright violation even unknowingly is still responsible for such. So in this case
Apple can be sued. Granted suing Apple isn't the moral thing to do as they were unknowing.
In fact due to her popularity she should try to use this as a way to upstart her modeling
career and perhaps work for Apple doing commercials and other forms of advertising

Also do not think for one second this is some sort of rare occurance where pictures are stolen
from everyday people and used in such ways. Many weight loss ads with the before and after pictures steal the pics online are actually stolen from weight loss forums. Then the ad says
they used the method advertised when that couldn't be further from the truth.

Strangely enough this happened to one of my wife's weight loss buddies on one of the forums
and that very ad was put on this very site as well as tons of others.

mayankleoboy1 10/27/2010 7:39 AM
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more pics of the model please

face-plants 10/27/2010 8:34 AM
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reconspartan 10/27/2010 8:53 AM
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I didn't read all of the comments so maybe someone already addressed this but where did it say the pics that were being distributed were nudes(some people were bitching about her being underage)?

A.) I thought that Apple won't allow porn to be published to their app store. => not nude
B.) With suggested evidence above, pictures of the then 16y.o. wouldn't be illegal.

To clarify, pictures of people under 18 are not inherently illegal, even if they're modeling. Only if it is a "sexual setting" is it considered porn i.e. nude, dry humping etc. I don't give a shit about her lawsuit I just don't like nanny laws and the misinterpretation of nanny laws.. 16 is old enough imo.

abhijeet1982 10/27/2010 9:25 AM
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imakuzim 10/27/2010 9:31 AM
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jupiter optimus maximus :
If she was a little smarter and thought long term, she could have applied as a model instead of suing Apple. Fashion designers are fanatic about apple, they won't take this lady lightly if she ever comes on their door steps.



Who needs modelling if she win the lawsuit :)