Photographer Rodrigo Pereda is suing artist Ivan Navarro and his New York gallery, Paul Kasmin, in federal court, alleging that they infringed on his copyright in a number of instances by allowing his work to be published in and distributed to various publications, without his permission and without credit. He says that he was deprived of his typical licensing fee and that his images were used to boost Mr. Navarro’s career.

In one case, Mr. Pereda alleges, Mr. Navarro and the gallery allowed ARTnews to run an image that he shot of one of Mr. Navarro’s light sculptures in an article without his permission.

Mr. Navarro’s defense? He says that Mr. Pereda didn’t actually take the photo in question, and that Mr. Pereda was just his assistant, and thus wouldn’t have retained copyright to any images that he shot. The case, which seeks $150,000 per each of three claims of infringement, raises some interesting questions about the nature of the relationships between artists and those they hire to help complete their projects in a world where agreements often occur over nothing more than a handshake. Read More