On September 19, 2007, the family of Texas teenager Alison Chang filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in Dallas alleging that Virgin Mobile Australia illegally used a photo of Chang that had been taken from a Flickr archive.
The Controversy
The photo of Chang appeared, cropped and reversed, in billboards and other advertisements with the slogan, "Dump your pen friend." The family claims that the ad caused embarrassment, and that the photo was taken by a youth counselor, Justin Ho-Wee Wong, while Chang was attending a Christian camp in Australia. The family is suing Virgin Mobile USA, Virgin Mobile Australia and Creative Commons, which licenses Flickr content.
References
Fast Facts
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Ad designed by the agency, [http
//www.hostville.com.au/ Host]
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Fact:
Part of the campaign, "Are you with us or what"
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Fact:
Chang was 15 at the time the photo was taken
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Fact:
Ad text implied that she was a loser who could be 'dumped' after getting a cell phone
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Fact:
Flickr prohibits commercial use of posted photos
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Virgin allegedly appropriated more than 100 other "user generated" photos
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Fact:
Lawrence Lessig has commented on the case, in Chang's favor
