Photographer Awarded Compensation After News Website Uses His Images, But Owners are Untraceable

A photographer won a legal ruling for compensation after a news website used his images, but tracking down the site’s owners and editors has proved impossible.

According to a report by Press Gazette, photographer Richard Southall sued news website The London Post in Birmingham Business and Property Courts in the U.K., claiming that it had used his work without permission. His lawsuit targeted the site’s owners 2Trom Media Group and its director, Russian national Viktor Tokarev.

Southall, who is a member of the Association of Photographers in the U.K., creates images for the hospitality, leisure, and construction sectors.

During the legal process, neither 2Trom nor Tokarev responded to Southall’s lawsuit. On December 7, the court issued a default judgment in Southall’s favour, awarding the photographer $452 (£335) for the infringement. However, obtaining the payment has been effectively impossible for the photographer.

According to Press Gazette, The London Post appears on Google News, which treats it as a legitimate publisher, and Similarweb data shows the site receives roughly 50,000 visits per month. The outlet also reportedly appears to promote illegal gambling and run promotional content for Russian businessmen.

Further investigation into The London Post and other 2Trom properties by Press Gazette found no active journalists, editors, or newsroom. The official addresses listed for the news website’s parent company 2Trom and its director Tokarev were a block of flats and a virtual office in London, meaning enforcement officers were unable to serve the judgment. This has left Southall unable to collect the compensation awarded by the court.

This situation highlights the difficulties photographers face in protecting their intellectual property, even after winning in court. Last month, PetaPixel reported on how photographer Djamilla Rosa Cochran took an unusual legal step to secure payment from rapper Cam’ron. In February 2024, Cochran won a copyright infringement case against Cam’ron, with the rapper ordered to pay $51,221.50 for his use of the photographer’s iconic image of him on merchandise. However, it appears that the photographer has still not received the money from the rapper. To enforce the judgment, Cochran filed a federal lien, which has frozen any potential earnings Cam’ron may receive from his ongoing lawsuit against rapper J. Cole. Cam’ron sued J. Cole for over $500,000, claiming he contributed lyrics and a verse to one of J. Cole’s songs but was neither credited nor compensated.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.