Welsh music photographer Justin Thomas has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against artist Elizabeth Peyton, David Zwirner Gallery, and Sotheby's over her 1996 painting based on his 1995 photograph of Liam and Noel Gallagher of the British rock band Oasis. The lawsuit was filed August 20 in the Southern District of New York.
Thomas's attorney, Terry Parker, characterizes Peyton's painting, titled "Earl's Court (Liam + Noel)," as a "slavish copy" of the original photograph, according to court documents. The image shows the brothers in a rare moment of embrace and became iconic during the British pop music wave of the 1990s. A black-and-white print from Thomas's 1995 shoot appears on the cover of his 2024 photography book, "How Does It Feel? - Oasis 1995/2002."
The filing alleges that Peyton's painting closely resembles a zoomed-in portion of Thomas's photograph. According to the lawsuit, the similarities are extensive, with the complaint stating that "the only transformation is the medium itself" aside from slight cropping, different coloring, and brush work. The painting includes details such as a blue flower-patterned sleeve not present in the original photograph.
Under copyright law, a defendant accused of infringement must have significantly adapted the copyrighted work to a "transformative" degree to avoid liability.
