Photographer Angela Hau sues Witness Locations and two individual homeowners over 21 home photographs used to market a rental property

The complaint

Hau v. Varet, No. 2:26-cv-12858 (C.D. Cal., Western Division), was filed November 3, 2026, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. Angela Hau, a freelance photographer focused on architectural and interior design photography, sued Esther Kim Varet, Joseph Varet, and WNDR Studio, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company doing business as Witness Locations. The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that Witness Locations runs a business through which owners of luxury properties lease them for photo shoots, film productions, retreats, and corporate events, and says its website lists the Varets' Hancock Park, Los Angeles house as the "Gallery House."

The works

The complaint says that in about October 2023 a magazine publisher hired Hau to photograph the Varets at their home, and that some of the photographs ran in a December 2023 article. It alleges Hau sent the Varets the larger set of photographs at no charge on the condition that use stay personal and archival, and later licensed two other portraits to them for non-commercial use. It says Hau kept the copyrights under her agreement with the publisher and registered the photographs under Registration No. VA 2-425-973, effective March 26, 2024. The Copyright Office record for VA 2-425-973 shows a group registration of 367 published photographs, published from January 18 to December 13, 2023, with Hau as author and claimant and a registration date of March 26, 2024.

The alleged infringement

The complaint alleges that in about April 2026 Hau found 21 of the photographs on the Witness Locations website marketing the Gallery House, and alleges, on information and belief, that the Varets supplied them in about June 2025 and that Witness Locations also used them in social media posts and paid advertisements. It says Hau's counsel notified the Varets on August 3, 2026 and Witness Locations on September 28, 2026, that Witness Locations removed the photographs from its website on October 14, 2026, and that several remained on its Instagram page as of November 2, 2026.

The claim and relief

Count I pleads copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501 against all defendants, and alleges the Varets' conduct was willful. The prayer seeks a permanent injunction, statutory damages under § 504(c) or actual damages and profits under § 504(b), as elected, costs, interest and attorney's fees under § 505 and 28 U.S.C. § 1920, and other relief.

Docket

The docket shows the complaint, the AO 121 copyright report, and a certificate of interested parties.