Judge Awards Photographer $10K in Copyright Suit Over Unlicensed Eric Adams Photo

Brooklyn, NY – A federal judge has awarded $10,000 in statutory damages to an award-winning photojournalist whose photo of New York City Mayor Eric Adams was used without permission by a media website.

In a decision issued August 1, 2025, U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan granted default judgment in favor of plaintiff Paul Martinka against defendant Digital One Media Ltd, which operates the Bengali-language news site AjkalNewYork.com. Martinka alleged that the site displayed his copyrighted image of Mayor Adams in February 2022 without licensing or authorization, in violation of the Copyright Act.

The Court found that the infringement was willful, citing the defendant’s failure to respond to cease-and-des

See Full Page