Appeals Court Puts Lil Nas X Photo Infringement Case to Bed

In a significant ruling for the music industry and artists’ social media practices, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has definitively dismissed a copyright infringement case levied against Lil Nas X over Instagram photos.

The lawsuit was brought forth by photographer Rodney Woodland, who alleged that Lil Nas X had posed similarly to several of his copyrighted images on Instagram. The case initially survived a motion to dismiss in district court, raising concerns across the industry about the legal risks associated with sharing images on social media accounts.

Woodland’s photos were posted between August 2018 and July 2021 and received between eight and seventy-five likes. Meanwhile, Lil Nas X’s photos were posted between March and October 2021 and received hundreds of thousands of likes on the platform.

The United States District Court for the Central District of California dismissed Woodland’s claims, including copyright infringement, declaratory relief, accounting, and unjust enrichment. The court found that Woodland failed to prove that Lil Nas X had previously viewed his photos on Instagram and that the photos Lil Nas X posted were not substantially similar to Woodland’s photos.

The appeals court reviewed the case and affirmed the district court’s dismissal, putting the issue to bed. Judges agreed that Woodland did not plausibly allege that Lil Nas X had viewed Woodland’s content and the mere fact that they shared a platform (Instagram) was not enough evidence.

Additionally, the court found that Woodland failed to show that Lil Nas X appropriated the poses and composition of the photos from Woodland. The Copyright Act only protects the selection and arrangement of individual elements in photos—with the court finding that the photos in question were not similar enough to be considered copyright violations. Many of the poses featured in both photographs are common photo poses used by hundreds of photographers who pose subjects for their work.