Shane Batham, one of Australia's most celebrated landscape and underwater photographers, has filed a lawsuit against Hamilton Island Gallery in Queensland, Australia, alleging that the gallery illegally used his copyrighted photographs as templates for paid art classes without permission or proper attribution.
According to court documents obtained by The Courier Mail, Batham claims the gallery used his 2019 photography book "Whitsundays and Living Reef, Great Barrier Reef Australia" as source material for art classes that operated from November 2022 through December 2024. The classes, which charged participants $79 per person and were supervised by a curator, allegedly encouraged students to copy or create derivative works based on Batham's copyrighted images.
The lawsuit, filed against the gallery's parent company Hamilton Island Enterprises Limited, specifically mentions that images such as "Hideaway Palm" and "Blissful Tree" were left on display for participants to replicate. Court documents reveal that attendees were also provided with handouts containing copies of or references to Batham's photographs, further facilitating the unauthorized reproduction of his work.
Batham alleges that class participants frequently reproduced his photographs or created paintings derived from them, with the gallery sometimes arranging to sell the finished artwork. Throughout this process, the photographer claims his copyright was never acknowledged, and he received no credit for the images that served as inspiration or direct templates for the student works.
The photographer is seeking $50,875 in profits from the alleged copyright infringements, plus an additional $25,000 in damages for violations of his moral rights as an artist. He is also requesting that the court officially declare the gallery breached his copyright and moral rights, and implement an injunction preventing the gallery from repeating such conduct in the future.
"This isn't a trivial matter. Artists deserve to have their work respected and their rights protected," Batham stated. "This case is about more than just me. It's for all the artists whose work has been misused, copied, or disrespected without permission. It's time we stood up for our rights."
Batham has established himself as a prominent figure in landscape and underwater photography, capturing his distinctive panoramic images on medium format Fuji Velvia film in a 3:1 aspect ratio. His extensive experience includes completing more than 2,500 dives and years of escorting international photojournalists both in Australia and abroad, working alongside leading figures in underwater photography. He currently owns and operates the Into The Blue Gallery in Queensland, making this case particularly significant as it involves one gallery owner taking legal action against another over artistic rights and proper attribution.
