Ryan Sheckler Under The Volcano

Ryan Sheckler reportedly posted a photo of himself on Twitter showing a new Red Bull hat. Then, someone who follows Sheckler’s tweets much more closely than we do noticed what looks like a Storz & Bickel Volcano in the background. Ryan pulled the image down from his Twitter feed but not before someone posted the photo on a site called The Dirty with the headline Lay Off The Ganja Sheckler.

Now, according to TMZ, Sheckler’s lawyers want the photo removed from the site saying:

Your unauthorized use of the RS rights and promotions of your website, products and items involving RS’s name likeness, copyrights and related trademarks and may violate RS’s right of publicity, constitute trademark infringement, copyright infringement, dilution and unfair competition among other rights. . . Additionally, your actions may have placed RS in breach of current agreements has has in place, and may expose RS to liability and/or damages.

The issue does bring up one good question (not that Sheckler’s lawyers mentioned it). Does posting a photo on Twitter give anyone free license to use that image on the web or in print any way they see fit? Not necessarily, according to a recent federal court decision reported in PDNonline.com. Photographer Daniel Morel is suing several news organizations (AFP, Getty Images, CBS, Turner Broadcasting) after they lifted one of his Haiti earthquake photos from his Twitter feed and ran with it. A judge agreed with Morel saying his lawsuit could continue because the “defendants failed to prove they had a license to use Morel’s images.”

Sheckler’s celebrity status coupled with the fact that the photo he posted of himself sitting directly in front of a “plant ingredient inhaling device” is in some twisted way “news” likely means there’s not much his lawyers can do about it. Not only has The Dirty left the photo up, they added this comment: “The kid is claiming war against me when he is the idiot who posted the picture. How much weed did you smoke dude?”

Seems the smoothest route through all of this would have been for Sheckler to ignore the post entirely. But then the lawyers wouldn’t have written that letter. And lawyers love writing letters.

[Link: The Dirty and TMZ via Hollywood News]