Date: 07-09-1998

Case Style: Christopher Scanlon v. Gil Kessler, Bruce Marcus, John Weis, and Gay Male S/M Activits

Case Number: 97CV1140

Judge: Constance Baker Motley

Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Plaintiff's Attorney: Glenn Greenwald of the Law Office of Glenn Greenwald, P.C., New York, New York

Defendant's Attorney: Paul O'Dwyer, New York, New York

Description: Copyright Infringement, Breach of Fiduciary Duty, Breach of Contract and Defamation Claims by former member of Gay Male S/M Activists from 1987 to 1996 who claimed that defendants used photographs taken by plaintiff at various GMSMA events. In early 1995, defendant Kessler gave two photographs to Theodore Heaney to accompany an article Heaney was writing for Checkmate magazine. Kessler never informed Heaney that Scanlon had taken the photographs. GMSA policy provides that photographs taken at GMSA events are only for the organization's internal use. In May, 1995, Heaney's article was published in Checkmate magazine. On several other instances, photographs taken by Scanlon were used without his permission by GMSMA.

Outcome: Judgment for plaintiff and against GMSMA after bench trial finding defendants infringed plaintiff's copyright but did not do so willfully and awarded plaintiff $1,000.00.

Plaintiff's Experts: Unknown

Defendant's Experts: Unknown

Comments: For more information about this case, see: 11 F.Supp.2d 444 (S.N.N.Y. 1998)