Detroit's Famed Gay Bar, Menjos, Sued Over Use of Hunky Shirtless Pic
Detroit Free Press, which reviewed a copy of the lawsuit. Stokes's suit states that the photographer does not want the events to be associated with his work.“The advertisement created by the defendant not only exploits an American service uniform for liquor sales but also implies patriotism and a celebration of country,” the Free Press quoted from the lawsuit.The photo, taken in 2013, was registered with the U.S.
Copyright Office in 2015. The lawsuit claims the photo was used twice without permission. The first alleged unauthorized use came in 2017 for a Military Might Night promotion with “shot rations specials.”The lawsuit was initiated after Menjos used the photo a second time in a more recent Facebook promotion for a July 4 event, the paper reports.
That more recent post no longer appears on the Menjos Facebook page. The lawsuit claims Stokes has grown “more selective in the use of his photos since he now works extensively portraying injured British and American veterans of war.”“The general public familiar with the plaintiff’s work may assume that this image is a veteran of war, and that the (photographer) licensed the image to an entity that makes profit from liquor sales,” the lawsuit states.
Bronson is not an active or former member of the military, according to the lawsuit. "(Stokes) also tempered the use of models partially nude in uniform — when photographing his veteran subjects," the lawsuit reads.
