Use Public Domain Spaceman Pic As Album Cover, Get Sued

In what could be a frivolous lawsuit that goes nowhere, but may make musical artists a little gun shy about pictures they co-opt onto album covers, a former NASA astronaut is suing Dido over her use of an iconic 1984 photo of him doing his spaceman thing for her album Safe Trip Home.

Bloomberg reports the astronaut wants the ever-popular “unspecified damages” and is also going after Sony Music Entertainment and Getty Images.

The astronaut doesn’t own the copyright for the picture, but says the album cover use infringes on his persona.

We’ll keep an eye on this one and let you know whether or not old photos of you doing amazing stuff in outer space are up for grabs for album usage.

Dido Sued by Astronaut for Using Space Flight Picture [Bloomberg via Slashdot]

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