William Kostroun sues G/O Media, alleging it displayed his Robert Saleh photograph on Deadspin and YouTube

What was filed

Kostroun v. G/O Media, Inc., No. 1:26-cv-09892 (S.D.N.Y.), is a 14-page complaint filed November 11, 2026, as Document 1, with a jury demand. The plaintiff is William Kostroun, a professional photographer and a citizen of New Jersey. The defendant is G/O Media, Inc., a Delaware corporation that, the complaint says, at all relevant times maintained a principal place of business in New York, New York.

The photograph

The complaint alleges that Kostroun created a photograph of football head coach Robert Saleh at a press conference, and that on January 7, 2022, he first published it by commercially licensing it for publication to a New York newspaper. It alleges that on April 1, 2022, the photograph was registered under Registration No. VA 2-297-940. The Copyright Office public record for VA0002297940 is a group registration of 60 published photographs, titled William Kostroun., with a publication date range of January 2, 2022, to March 29, 2022, a 2022 creation date, and a registration date of April 1, 2022. It lists William Kostroun as author and claimant. Among the photographs the record lists as published in January 2022 are titles beginning "1.7.2022_Robert Saleh."

What the complaint alleges

The complaint alleges that from at least November 2023 through March 11, 2024, G/O Media owned and operated the sports news website deadspin.com and a YouTube account known as Deadspin. It alleges that on or about November 20, 2023, without permission, G/O Media reproduced the photograph, cropped and combined it with another image and overlaid text, and publicly displayed the resulting image as the cover of a video on that YouTube account and as the cover of that video embedded in an online story on deadspin.com. Kostroun first observed the use on December 27, 2023, the complaint says. It alleges that on or about February 1, 2024, he notified G/O Media in writing through counsel and demanded that it stop and compensate him, and that a follow-up written communication followed on or about September 6, 2024.

The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that on or about March 11, 2024, G/O Media sold or otherwise transferred its interests in the website and the account to a third party, including the website together with its accumulated content. It further alleges, on information and belief, that G/O Media continued to publicly display the accused uses after the February 1, 2024 notice and then transferred the website and the account with those uses still displayed, without removing them. As of the complaint, it says, the video, with the photograph as its cover image, remained publicly displayed on the YouTube account, including as it appeared on November 9, 2026. The complaint also alleges, on information and belief, that G/O Media has been named as a defendant in other copyright infringement actions over its use of professional photographs, citing S.D.N.Y. No. 1:26-cv-05787.

The claims and the prayer

Count I, Direct Copyright Infringement under 17 U.S.C. §501 et seq., alleges that G/O Media copied, reproduced, distributed, adapted, and/or publicly displayed the photograph without a license, in willful violation of Kostroun's exclusive rights under 17 U.S.C. §106, and alleges, on information and belief, that the infringement was willful. Count II, Vicarious Copyright Infringement, alleges, on information and belief, that G/O Media had the right and ability to supervise the conduct of its representatives with respect to content on the website and the account, and alleges that it derived a direct financial benefit from the accused uses, including advertising revenue from increased traffic, and failed to prevent or stop them, and alleges, on information and belief, that the vicarious infringement was willful. The prayer seeks a finding that G/O Media infringed by copying, reproducing, distributing, publishing, and publicly displaying the photograph without a license or consent; actual damages and disgorgement of profits under 17 U.S.C. § 504(b) or, in the alternative at Kostroun's election, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c), whichever is larger; an injunction under 17 U.S.C. § 502(a) against infringing use of any of Kostroun's works; costs of litigation and reasonable attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505; pre-judgment interest; and other relief the court deems just and proper.