Annie Liebovitz to lose copyright of life's work if $24M debt not paid

Annie Liebovitz, world-renowned photographer, creator of stunning and controversial pictures of some of the most famous celebrities of our time such as John Lennon, Demi Moore, Queen Elizabeth II, Michael Jackson and many more now faces losing the rights to all those infamous photographs.

In 2008, Leibovitz took out a $24 million loan with Art Capital Group (ACG), an art market financing company, and used her three homes in New York City (two in Greenwich Village and one in Rhinebeck) as well as the rights to all her work, both current and future, as collateral. ACG claims that it had agreed with Liebovitz to sell her works and assets if the exorbitant loan was not paid back by Sept. 8, 2009. Furthermore, according to BBC News, ACG sued Leibovitz in July 2009 for breach of contract, claiming that she had blocked the company from selling her works.

"We have clear contractual rights and will protect them in any scenario," ACG spokesman Montieth Illingworth told the Associated Press.

In addition to all this pressure, BBC News further reported a lawsuit filed by an Italian photographer Paolo Pizzetti just last week, stating that Liebovitz used his photographs without permission in an advertising campaign for a coffee company.