Sony Music Publishing Facing Infringement Lawsuit for Allegedly Posting Photo of Stevie Wonder to Its Instagram Page Without a License

Sony Music Publishing is facing a $150,000 copyright infringement lawsuit from photographer Alan Satterwhite, who alleges that the company used his photograph of Stevie Wonder in an Instagram post without obtaining permission or paying a licensing fee.

Satterwhite filed the complaint Sunday, November 8, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The dispute concerns a photograph taken in 1974 showing Wonder seated at a piano, which appeared in a 2023 Instagram post celebrating the 50th anniversary of his album Innervisions.

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