[caption id="attachment_70697" align="aligncenter" width="576"] Woman Sues Getty Over photo Used in Ad for HIV[/caption]

Woman Files $450,000 Lawsuit Against Getty Images Over HIV AD

Brooklyn, New York - 25-year-old Avril Nolan took part in a photo shoot years ago and had since moved on in her professional career, or so she thought.

On April 3rd, she was alerted by a Facebook friend that her image was being splashed across the AM New York newspaper and in other periodicals as part of an HIV awareness campaign. The ad featured Nolan against a caption confessing her HIV positive status and affirming her civil rights.

The problem is that Nolan never gave consent for her photographs to be used in that manner and she is also not HIV positive. The image was sold by Getty Images and as a result she is suing the company for $450,000 claiming both personal and professional harm following the unauthorized use of her image.

Nolan felt compelled to inform her employers regarding the ads and her actual health status which was an ignominious experience for her.

Nolan's attorney Erin Lloyd believes that Getty Images violated his client's privacy by not having a signed authorization to sell her image.

Nolan was not in a committed relationship at the time, her attorney, Erin Lloyd, told The Post.

“Feeling humiliated and embarrassed, [Nolan] was forced to confess to her bosses that her image had been used in an advertisement for HIV services, implying that she was infected with HIV, in a newspaper often used by her own clients for advertising and that is distributed to tens of thousands of New Yorkers every day.”

Cumbo, the photographer who took the shoot, described herself as an acquaintance of Ms Nolan.

"I have been nothing but apologetic about how this happened," Cumbo told The Post. "I never intended for her picture to be used in this way."

Cumbo confirmed that she never gave Getty a release. She said the photo was originally used for a magazine editorial.

For her part, Nolan has launched a two-prong assault on Getty Images. The civil lawsuit is part of her response. She has also filed a grievance with New York's Division of Human Rights.

A Getty spokeswoman has not responded to eCanadaNow's request for an interview.

On The Web:

Model sues after HIV-positive ad
http://nypost.com/2013/09/19/woman-sues-getty-after-photo-appears-in-hiv-positive-ad/

Woman sues Getty after photo used in HIV-positive ad
http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/woman-sues-getty-after-photo-used-in-hivpositive-ad/story-fnda1bsz-1226723464072