Manhattan photographer says two Georgia clothing companies are illegally using his images of Aaliyah

A Manhattan photographer who shot some of the last portraits of Aaliyah before the singer’s August 2001 death says that two Georgia clothing companies are illegally using the images on high-priced shirts, according to a new lawsuit.

Eric Johnson, in a lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court, accuses Fvmous Clothing and Renasia Couture, both of Palmetto, with using several of the photos without his permission.

 

On its website Fvmous has been selling a $60 baseball-style, button-down shirt that's almost entirely fronted with Johnson's photo of the R&B star looking into the camera.

A Fvmous sweatshirt featuring Aaliyah’s same smoldering stare with a galaxy backdrop can also be found online.

One T-shirt is adorned with the “Are You That Somebody?” singer posing in a playful, over-the-shoulder glance.

Johnson, 49, says the images from his June 2001 shoot captured intimate and timeless shots of the Brooklyn-born superstar.

”Certain photographs from that shoot have come to define Aaliyah’s enduring image among the public and her devoted fans,” the filing states.

 

While Johnson has licensed some photos from the shoot, the suit says, he has kept most in his private, personal archive, and has distributed only a few of them commercially since the shoot.

The suit says that Johnson’s lawyer contacted Fvmous and Renasia, asking them to stop using the photos — but they refused. Fvmous and Renasia also told Johnson’s lawyer they were selling the business to a Chinese company, the suit alleges.

Neither Fvmous Clothing Co. nor Renasia responded to requests for comment.

Johnson, whose renown portfolio include portraits of Notorious B.I.G. and Lil’ Wayne, among many others, is seeking unspecified damages.