Ellen Barkin sued after tweeting photo of herself making rude gesture at Harvey Weinstein trial

Photographer Steven Hirsch alleges copyright infringement

Ellen Barkin leaves Harvey Weinstein's trial on 23 January 2020 in New York City. (TIMOTHY A CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)

Actor Ellen Barkin has been sued for alleged copyright infringement after tweeting a photo of herself at Harvey Weinstein’s trial.

The complaint, reviewed by The Independent, was filed on Monday in New York City.

Photographer Steven Hirsch alleges that Barkin infringed on his copyright by using the image on her Twitter feed.

The photo dates back to January 2020 and was taken inside the courthouse during Weinstein’s criminal trial – which ended with him being convicted of a criminal sexual act and third-degree rape and sentenced to 23 years in prison.

Barkin used the image, which features her flipping the bird in direction of the camera, in a tweet that month, with the accompanying caption: “Mood”.

“Barkin did not license the Photograph from Plaintiff for the Website, nor did Barkin have Plaintiff’s permission or consent to publish the Photograph on the Website,” the complaint alleges.

Richard Liebowitz, Hirsch’s lawyer, told The Independent: “Copyright laws around the world support the arts, if one wants to use a photograph one needs to get permission from the photographer, even for social media websites.

“In today’s digital world, photographers are seeing their licensing revenue decrease and the number of thefts of their photos increase exponentially. This is a major problem but photographers and artists have copyright laws to protect them.”

The Independent has contacted Barkin’s team for comment.