Cam’ron Sued for Using Famous Pink Fur Photo of Himself on Merch
The money Cam’ron made off the famous image of the Harlem, N.Y. rapper wearing a pink fur on a pink flip phone might cost him as he is being sued for profiting off the image.
On Tuesday (April 11), photographer Djamilla Rosa Cochran filed a lawsuit against Cam’ron, born Cameron Giles, and Dipset Couture LLC for copyright infringement, according to court documents obtained by XXL on Thursday (April 13). She claims she owns the copyright to the image that Cam has been making money off of for years.
“Defendant Dipset Couture LLC, without permission or authorization from Plaintiff, actively copied and displayed the Photograph on the Website as part of various product listings (‘Merchandise Listings’) and engaged in this misconduct knowingly and in violation of the United States copyright laws,” the lawsuit reads. “Getty Images notified defendants of their infringing activities by mail and email on multiple occasions. Despite those notifications, defendants continued to sell merchandise and continued to display the photograph on website and accounts.”
The photo in question was taken in February of 2003 at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and shows Killa donning a pink fur coat while talking on a pink flip phone. The image is undoubtedly the most recognizable image of the Dipset MC and one of the most memorable hip-hop pictures from the early 2000s. In the years since the photo was taken, Cam has capitalized off the pic’s popularity by using it on march including shower curtains, socks, beach towels, jewelry, hoodies, bikinis and more. All promoted via the Purple Haze rapper’s own Instagram page.
Cochran is asking for a jury trial and is seeking damages including all of the profits Cam’ron made off merch using the photo.
XXL has reached out to Cam’ron‘s attorney for comment.