June 11, 2018
Source/Federal court documents
Advertisement displayed on PornHub.com shows Marlton native Edward Kelly, who claims the website used his photo without obtaining his consent.
A South Jersey man is seeking more than $3 million in damages and compensation against the operator of PornHub.com, claiming the adult site used a photo of him flashing hundred-dollar bills in a get-rich-quick advertisement.
A civil lawsuit says Edward Kelly was "dismayed and distraught" when he heard from a friend that his face was on the world's most frequently visited pornography website, according to the Courier-Post.
The selfie shows Kelly in a car wearing a Pittsburgh Pirates hat. He looks away from the camera as he displays the money. On PornHub, which is owned by MindGeek, the image was used for an advertisement that promised those who clicked the secret to earning $752 per day.
The lawsuit claims that someone on PornHub's advertising team spotted the image and decided to use it without obtaining consent from Kelly, who took and therefore owns the photo. PornHub has reportedly been displaying the image for at least six years.
An attorney for Kelly, who's described as an employee "in the secular computer field," argues that anyone who sees the ad could get the false impression his client intentionally consented to PornHub's use of his image.
In addition to $2 million in compensatory damages, Kelly is seeking more than $1 million in "infringer's profits," noting that PornHub racked up more than 28.5 billion visits last year.
The actual context for why Kelly had taken the selfie was not provided in the lawsuit.
