IP Law Daily, COPYRIGHT—D.D.C.: Influencer wins summary judgment in copyright suit against travel-focused social media firm, (Oct 14, 2026)

By Jonathan Anderson

The court rejected the defendant’s affirmative defenses that the plaintiff had licensed her works and that the claims were barred by the statute of limitations.

The federal district court in Washington, D.C. found an American social media content firm liable for infringing the copyright of an Icelandic influencer, with damages to be determined later. The court concluded that the firm, Tripscout, Inc., unlawfully reposted the influencer’s social media content after she revoked her consent for the company to use her photos and videos. The court found a genuine factual dispute in just one of the 41 alleged infringements, concerning whether Tripscout owned or controlled the account that posted the content. Further, the court held that the influencer is eligible for either actual damages under a lost-license theory, together with Tripscout’s wrongfully obtained profits, or statutory damages for five infringements (Steinarsdottir v. Tripscout, Inc., No. 1:23-cv-01528-CRC (D.D.C. Oct. 13, 2026)).

Background. Plaintiff Asa Steinars, an Icelandic social media influencer, sued defendant Tripscout alleging copyright infringement. Tripscout is a U.S. company that operates hundreds of travel-related social media accounts. When Tripscout began republishing Steinars’ social media content in 2017, she did not object to it at the time. But by 2021, after Steinars’ follower count grew substantially, she revoked her consent for Tripscout to use her photos and videos until the parties entered into a licensing agreement and Tripscout paid for past unlicensed uses of her work. Tripscout rebuffed the demand and removed Steinars’ work from its pages. However, the company later began using her content again, prompting Steinars to sue.

The Third Amended Complaint (TAC) alleges Tripscout unlawfully copied 41 of Steinars’ copyrighted works on 53 occasions and requests actual damages and profits or statutory damages as redress. Tripscout filed counterclaims for fraudulent inducement, unjust enrichment, and tortious interference with contract, which the court dismissed. Both parties failed to preserve relevant evidence that prejudiced the opposing side, prompting the court to sanction both sides.

Tripscout moved for summary judgment on all of Steinars’ claims and on two affirmative defenses. Steinars opposed the motion and filed a cross-motion for partial summary judgment as to Tripscout’s liability for all but one alleged instance of infringement.

Domestic infringement. First, the court found that Tripscout infringed Steinars’ copyrights in the United States as required for liability under the Copyright Act. The court found that the copyrighted works appeared on viewers’ screens in the United States, with the court noting that such appearances were not mere happenstance. Rather, the largest share of Tripscout’s audience on Instagram is in the United States, which the court said could lead a jury to conclude that Tripscout targeted American users, thus satisfying the domestic-act requirement. Tripscout alleged that the infringing posts were uploaded by overseas contractors, but the court found this point irrelevant because the infringement culminated in the United States.

Direct copyright infringement. Second, the court found that Steinars was entitled to partial summary judgment on the issue of liability for 40 of the 41 alleged infringements. In making that determination, the court evaluated the three elements of Steinars’ claim of direct infringement.

Regarding ownership of a valid copyright, Steinars produced timely certificates for all 41 works she alleged were infringed. The court rejected Tripscout’s argument that Steinars improperly identified herself as the author on the registrations, noting that even if the authorship information is incorrect, inadvertent mistakes themselves do not invalidate otherwise valid copyright certificates.

On the next element, copying, Tripscout neither disputed nor denied copying for all but one of the alleged infringements. On the single contested infringement allegation, Tripscout asserted that it has never owned or been associated with that account, but the court also identified evidence that suggested Tripscout might have been involved with it. Thus, as to one of the alleged infringements, the court concluded the evidence creates a genuine factual dispute for a jury to decide, and so the court denied summary judgment for that alleged infringement.

As for causation, the court concluded that the volitional-conduct requirement was satisfied, rejecting the company’s argument that it “did not post the content at issue” because it “used a network of independent contractors to manage and post content on its social media handles.”

Affirmative defenses. Third, the court held that Tripscout was not entitled to summary judgment on its affirmative defenses. Tripscout argued that Instagram’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy granted it an explicit license to copy Steinars’ works, an argument the court rejected. Tripscout advanced an implied-license defense, which the court also found unpersuasive. Tripscout also asserted that 10 alleged infringements were barred by the statute of limitations, but the court concluded otherwise.

Damages. Fourth, the court addressed which categories of damages, if any, Steinars may recover. Steinars advanced theories of lost sales and lost license fees in seeking actual damages, but the court found that the record provides sufficient support only for a lost-license theory. The court also held that Steinars may seek to disgorge Tripscout of any ill-gotten gains. Alternatively, the court concluded that Steinars may be eligible for statutory damages for five infringements.

The Case is No. 1:23-cv-01528-CRC.

Judge: Cooper, C.

Attorneys: Joshua D. Vera (Sanders Law Group) for Asa Steinarsdottir. Shane M. Rumbaugh (Rumbaugh Law PLLC) for Tripscout, Inc.

Companies: Tripscout, Inc.

MainStory: TopStory Copyright DistrictofColumbiaNews TechnologyInternet GCNNews