Netflix Accused Of Stealing VHS Photo For Stranger Things DVD

A photographer has accused Netflix of stealing a photograph he took of a VHS for the company’s Stranger Things box set.

The photographer and tech enthusiast Gough Lui, published a blog post Friday that was reprinted on the photo news site PetaPixel. Liu claimed that photographs he took of a VHS cassette were repurposed for the packaging of the Stranger Things box set. The packaging of the DVD and Blu-Ray is made to look like a cassette, in line with the retro motifs of the sci-fi show set in the 1980s.

Lui published a blog post about VHS cassettes on his website called “Intro – Inside the VHS Cassette & VCR,” with a series of detailed photographs of a VHS. An eagle-eyed YouTube user was watching an online review of the box set and recognized the photos and contacted Lui.

Lui claimed that the original photos of the cassette, modified with Stranger Things logos, are his.

“How could they, a large corporate company with day-to-day experience in handling rights-protected materials, use my material without so much as asking me for permission? How did they think they can get away with it? I’ll admit, I’m not a lawyer, but I do have a moral right to copyright over the images I take that does not require any registration,” wrote Lui. “I deserve to be compensated for it.”

Lui posted his attempts at contacting the company online which began Nov. 5. The most recent communication Lui had from Netflix came Tuesday.

“First, my sincerest apologies that no one has gotten back to you until now. Your blog post was brought to my attention so I wanted to reach out and let you know that we’re currently looking into this matter with the creative agency that worked on the product design for the tapes. Will update you as I know more. Feel free to reach out in the meantime,” wrote a Netflix representative.

Lui wrote that he appreciated that Netflix has responded and hopes that the matter can be resolved and that he can be compensated for his work. Lui lives in Australia, but the box set is only available in the U.S.

Netflix told the International Business Times that it was attempting to reach Lui by phone to amend the situation.

Lui did not respond to request for comment from IBT

This post was updated to include Netflix's response which was received after publication.

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