Miley Cyrus has settled a copyright lawsuit over a photo she posted to Instagram.
One month after paparazzo Robert Barbera filed a complaint against the Wrecking Ball singer for posting one of his photos of herself on Instagram, Cyrus has settled the suit.
According to court documents obtained by Billboard, the photographer initially claimed that Cyrus reposted a 2020 image he took of her without his permission. In the photo, Cyrus is shown waving as she exits a building.
Though Cyrus is the subject of the picture, she does not automatically hold the rights to distribute it. Copyright to images goes to the photographer under United States law.
Barbera’s original 12 September complaint filed in a Los Angeles federal court argued that due to Cyrus’s “immense presence” on Instagram, her posting the image “crippled if not destroyed” his ability to profit from licensing it.
Documents filed on 18 October indicate that the pair have settled the case. The suit was dismissed “with prejudice”, meaning Barbera cannot refile the complaint in that court.
No details on the terms of their settlement were shared.
If Cyrus chose not to settle, she could have faced damages totalling up to $150,000 (£133,916).
Previously, Barbera has filed copyright complaints against Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, and Dua Lipa for the unauthorised use of his images. Grande and Bieber settled with the New York-based photographer on confidential terms, while the case with Lipa is still pending in court.