The difference is that in the US, if it was a picture he took himself, he was the actual owner of the copyright. The complaint was in the wrong if they simply c

The difference is that in the US, if it was a picture he took himself, he was the actual owner of the copyright. The complaint was in the wrong if they simply confused their image with his. It is unfair, but based on the inequality of legal resources, not because some third party owns a copyright on a picture that you take yourself.