Ludacris recently uploaded a photo of beautiful Perth Beach to his Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, with many fans left in awe of the stunning photo. However, it seems one man has been left feeling out in the dark, and that man is allegedly the photographer himself, Paul Pichugin.
"One of my Instagram followers spotted it and tagged me in Ludacris' post so I could see it," he told WAToday.com. "It's an exact copy of the one I posted on Instagram, it's cropped exactly the same."
Right before Luda shared the photo, it was posted with the "Best Vacations" account, which the ATL rapper follows. It's assumed he took the photo from that account. Normally, when an image is shared using Instagram's 'repost' or 'regram' functions, the original poster's information and caption are included, but Mr. Pichugin's was not.
"A lot of accounts do share my photos and I'm more than happy for them to do that when they tag me or credit me," he said.
Pichugin tried to get in touch with Ludacris via Instagram and Facebook, but likely got lost in a sea of fans trying to connect with the rapper. He then filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice with Instagram and Facebook. The photo has been removed.
"There seems to be a very basic misunderstanding of copyright on the Internet, that because something is posted on a public website it's OK to use. That's not at all true."
As Ludacris wasn't claiming he took the photo, did Pichugin over-react, or is this a fair way to protect his works?
Check out the pic in question above and sound off below.
Source: watoday.com.au
