Barbra Streisand loses privacy case over on-line photos

Barbra Streisand last week lost a $10 million action over the on-line publication of photographs of her California estate, according to a report by SiliconValley.com. The photos were part of a project to photograph the entire California coastline.

The Hollywood star brought the action in May, following the publication of almost 13,000 photographs of the California coastline on a web site run by Kenneth Adelman and his wife, a project they began after he made millions in the sale of a software business.

The collection has been highly praised for its environmental value as a document from which to assess coastal erosion and other changes. But Streisand took exception to the inclusion of photographs of her estate. She sued, claiming violation of her privacy.

On Wednesday, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Allan Goodman dismissed the action, and ordered Streisand to pay Adelman’s legal costs.

According to a report on SiliconValley.com, Judge Goodman:

"Aerial views are a common part of daily living. There is nothing offensive about the manner in which they occur, nor in the manner in which this particular view was obtained."

Nor was there a violation of privacy, said the Judge, as no people can be seen on the pictures and they do not depict the inside of the star’s home.

"I'm ecstatic," Adelman told SiliconValley.com on Wednesday, continuing:

"The court clearly found that photographing the coast and putting it on the web is protected free speech."