Ludacris is in some hot water following a recent Instagram posting.
According to HipHopDX, a photographer has filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act takedown notice with the photo sharing app after his picture was shared by Luda without credit.
The photo Luda shared, which merely featured a series of emojis as its caption, is a breath taking flick of the coastline at North Beach in Perth, Australia.
Paul Pichugin, the man responsible for the photo, says he was made aware of the fact that his picture was reposted by Ludacris after one of his Instagram followers tagged him in the rapper's post.
Pichugin revealed that he was initially excited about his photo being shared, but says his excitement went to pits when he realized he received no credit on his work.
One of my Instagram followers spotted it and tagged me in Ludacris' post so I could see it," Pichugin said while speaking with WA Today. "At first I was pretty excited, but when I saw there was no credit I thought that wasn't cool because it doesn't actually do anything for me."
Pichugin went on to explain to the Australia-based publication the importance of understanding copyright.
"In general, it's absolutely essential that photographers are credited so that people know who took the photo and who to go to if they want similar photos taken for a business or tourism campaign...There seems to be a very basic misunderstanding of copyright on the Internet, that because something is posted on a public website it's OK to use," he said. "That's not at all true."
As of today (July 20), Pichugin's picture no longer appears to be on Ludacris' Instagram page.
What do you think of Ludacris posting someone else's work without giving credit? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.
