Placerville, California [Courthouse News] – Carla Calkins, a woman who runs the Placerville, Calif., Mother Lode photo studio with her husband has sued Playboy Magazine and Miss December 2003 Colleen Shannon in Sacramento Federal Court, claiming they violated copyright by publishing without permission Shannon’s 1996 high school senior portrait as part of the centerfold “biography.”

According to the suit, Calkins alleges that her husband photographed Shannon for her high school year portrait, a reproduction of which appeared in Playboy’s December 2003 issue.

According to court documents the reproduction was done without the Calkins’ permission and that Calkins’ husbandregistered the photograph with the Copyright office on February 5, 2004. The lawsuit also alleges that Shannon “colluded” with Playboy to infringe the copyright.

The suit seeks one-time licensing fee damages and payment for additional usage of the photo that may subsequently be discovered. It also asks that Playboy be disgorged of all profits attributed to the infringement, plus attorneys fees and court costs.