Glaser Weil Secures Trial Victory for Muhammad Ali’s Personal Photographer Against Authentic Brands Group

Glaser Weil secured a significant trial victory for Muhammad Ali’s personal photographer, Michael Gaffney, in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Authentic Brands Group (ABG) and its subsidiary, Muhammad Ali Enterprises. On September 23, 2024, a jury in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found ABG liable on twenty-three counts of direct, vicarious and contributory copyright infringement, ruling that the defendants committed willful infringement by engaging in acts with knowledge of or reckless disregard of Gaffney’s copyrighted works.

The litigation centered on ABG’s unauthorized use of Gaffney’s rare collection of Ali photographs captured in 1977 and 1978. ABG continued to use Gaffney’s photographs after his contract with ABG expired, including their use on various merchandise, such as T-shirts and posters, and ABG’s commercial social media accounts, where they were advertised to millions of people. Learn more.

The New York jury trial lasted six days and featured testimony from eight witnesses. Judge George B. Daniels presided over the case in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The ten-member jury awarded the maximum statutory damages totaling $1.65 million in the alternative to over $1.1 million in damages and infringer profits.

Gaffney was represented by Partner Robert Allen, Associate Jason Linger and Paralegal Rebecca Feldman.