Photographer Files Copyright Lawsuit on Wounded Knee

Photographer Anne Pearse-Hocker is suing Firelight Media and the Smithsonian for copyright infringement. Pearse-Hocker alleges that Firelight Media’s documentary, We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, used her photos of the 1973 event without her permission and without giving her credit. According to Courhouse News,

[Pearse-Hocker] claims Firelight gained permission to use the pictures from the Smithsonian Institutions to make a documentary, which Firelight released in February 2008. Pearse-Hocker says Firelight used several pictures from the museum’s archives, including images of one of the Sioux immediately after he was shot, being carried from a church for medical aid. She claims the documentary was broadcast on PBS and is available for purchase through the PBS Web site and from Barnes & Noble, Amazon and Borders.

You can access the complaint here, courtesy of Courthouse News.