TORONTO – Playboy has discontinued lawsuits against two Canadian publications the magazine had alleged had illegally reproduced revealing photographs of supermodel Kate Moss taken for the U.S. magazine’s 60th anniversary.
The copyright suits against Toronto-based Contempo Media and Montreal’s Indecent Xposure had sought up to $50,000 in damages from each outlet.
Nick Younes, founder of Indecent Xposure, said he was happy with the outcome but unable to discuss the details.
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Indecent Xposure publishes the online IX Daily, which features articles on fashion, music and culture in Canada.
One such article was on the Kate Moss spread two years ago in Playboy, which sparked reports from publications around the world.
At the time, the webzine was making no money and it took down the offending material as soon as Playboy objected in mid-2014, said Younes, who called it “crazy” that Playboy would have sued.
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Contempo’s web publication – Sharp – Canada’s Magazine for Men – published its Moss pictorial with numerous images under the heading of “The Kate Moss Anthology.”
Its president, John McGouran, confirmed the suit against his outlet had also been discontinued.
“We settled out of court,” said Bob Sotiriadis, the Montreal lawyer acting for Playboy.