A U.S. District Court has ruled in favor of Seattle-based photographer Lloyd Shugart in a case brought against him by shoe company Propet USA. According to Shugart's attorney, Philip Mann, the case could be the first ruling under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) to favor a photographer.

Shugart had photographed products and images for Propet from 1999 through 2005, when he claimed the company used the images outside the scope of their intended purpose and removed copyright management information from the photos. When warned by Shugart, Propet filed...