CopyrightS.D.N.Y.1:25-cv-09692
Mcgucken v. Celebrity Cruises, Inc.
Summary
Dr. Elliot Mcgucken sues Celebrity Cruises and Royal Caribbean for copyright infringement over allegedly stolen creative works.
Summary generated by AI from public docket data. Verify against the original filing before relying on it.
- Court
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York
- Docket no.
- 1:25-cv-09692
- Nature of suit
- Copyright
- Filed
- 2025-11-20
- Last filing
- 2026-05-07
Cause
17:101 Copyright Infringement
Parties
DOES 1-10 Royal Carribean Cruises, Ltd. Celebrity Cruises, Inc. Dr. Elliot Mcgucken
Deep summary (AI brief of the complaint)
**Plaintiff:** Dr. Elliot McGucken, individual landscape photographer residing in California.
**Defendant:** Celebrity Cruises, Inc. (Florida corporation) and Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. (Liberian limited company), joint operators of celebritycruises.com.
**Core allegation:** Defendants reproduced and publicly displayed McGucken's copyrighted landscape photograph on the Celebrity Cruises blog (URLs: celebritycruises.com/blog/things-to-do-in-astoria-oregon and a directly hosted image upload) without authorization. McGucken sent a cease-and-desist on October 6, 2023; the infringing content remained live as of the filing date.
**Asserted IP:**
- One registered photograph ("Subject Photograph"), a landscape image of Cannon Beach/Astoria, Oregon; copyright registration number not stated in complaint
**Relief sought:** Injunction, disgorgement of profits, actual or statutory damages up to $150,000 per infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c)(2), constructive trust, attorneys' fees, and costs.
**Why it matters:** Illustrates ongoing litigation risk for major travel and hospitality brands that source blog imagery from the open web without licensing verification.
AI-generated from the filed complaint. Always verify against the original document.