A suit was filed in the Eastern District of New York on Monday against defendants La Paz Pizza Cor, doing business as Caffe Catania Pizzeria & Pasta (CCPP) and Mypizza Technologies, Inc., doing business as Slice (Slice). The plaintiff, Prepared Food Photos, Inc., formerly known as Adlife Marketing & Communications Co., Inc (PFPI) has filed suit against the defendants for the perceived copyright infringement they engaged in when using a photo taken by the plaintiff on their website.
PFPI is a “retail food advertising company servicing retailers and wholesalers throughout the United States for almost 40 years.” Specifically, PFPI works in custom photography, full-service design, production, web and print management, mobile technology, and proprietary digital advertising platforms. In 2007, PFPI did a photograph which they titled “ColdCutAsst040.” They registered the photograph in 2016 with the Register of Copyrights, which meant it was protected by copyright but was not confidential.
In late 2018, the plaintiff realized that the defendants had used their copyrighted work on their websites. Since the defendants were never licensed to use the copyrighted work, their actions constitute infringement. In addition to using the image on their websites, the defendants “made further copies and distributed the Work on the internet to promote the sale of goods and services as part of their pizza businesses.”
The actions on the part of the defendants have led the plaintiff to cite copyright infringement in the complaint. They claim that the defendant’s actions were willful and caused irreparable damage to PFPI. PFPI is seeking a trial by jury on the count of copyright infringement, an injunction permanently preventing the defendants from engaging in further infringement, actual and statutory damages, and any other relief deemed just by the Court.The plaintiff is represented by Sriplaw.
