In what photographers are calling a “David vs. Goliath” situation, thewho with his father shot hundreds of pictures of the Walton family from 1950 to 1994 is being sued by theand the Walton family to have negatives, proofs and prints turned over to them.Robert A. Huff and his son, David A. Huff, owners ofin Fayetteville and both now deceased, photographed members of the Walton family from 1950 to 1994 in their studio. Now the Waltons are suing the photographer’s widow, Helen Huff, 63, to get the photo negatives, along with any proofs and prints she still has. The Walton family and the Walmart Museum (filing suit as Crystal Lands, LLC, and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., respectively) claim the negatives and proofs belong to them and that the studio only kept them as a courtesy to the family, according to the complaint filed in an Arkansas court. The Walton family, suing as Crystal Lands LLC, maintains that the studio kept the negatives and proofs as a courtesy to the family, but that they are the intellectual property of the Waltons.Defendantwidow of David Huff, has filed a counterclaim, saying she holds the copyright to the photos and asking the court to stop Walmart from using the photographs without her permission. Federal Judgehas scheduled a case management hearing for July 7.The Waltons claim the pictures were taken under their “supervision” and that they thus hold intellectual property rights to more than 200 photographs in six boxes, including those shot at the studio as well as photos taken to the studio for restoration. The defense argues in its answer to the Walmart complaint that Huff owns copyrights to all the works her late husband and father-in-law created for the Walton family, and that they worked as independent contractors for the Walton family. As proof, Huff points out that the photographers used their own equipment, lenses, lights and backdrops; controlled the positions of their subjects; chose and developed the film or hired the processing company; and provided a copyright notice to the Walton family notifying them that they owned ‘exclusive rights to reproduce’ the pictures.” 
 
 But the Waltons claim, according to the newspaper, that the photographs were created as a “work-for-hire.” Without a written contract, the Waltons have to show their relationship with the photography studio was like an employer-employee relationship in which the family was boss. PPA as an association stands behind Ms. Huff and supports her case as the rightful owner of these images. “[I]n this case, it’s the largest retailer in the world bullying a small Arkansas studio,” wrote chief executive David Trust on PPA’s Web site. David Trust, CEO of the PPA, made the “David vs. Goliath” comparison, and said the suit “would set a terrible precedent and goes, flat out, against copyright law.”Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove issued this statement this afternoon: PPA reported that the Waltons offered Helen Huff $2,000 for the negatives and proofs, which she turned down. The PPA claims that the Waltons offered Helen Huff $2,000 for the photographs, but Huff’s attorneys,andof the Everett, Wales and Comstock firm in Fayetteville, declined to confirm the offer. UPDATED 5/21: Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove issued a statement this afternoon: 
 
 
 
 As you can imagine, many of the photos go back many years and commemorate the history, heritage and culture of our company. Martin and Everett also maintain that Bob’s Studio’s arrangement with the Waltons was also not a “work-for-hire” contract. In our opinion, this obviously is a violation of copyright law and it is beyond question that Ms. Huff owns the photographs and if the Waltons want the photographs, they should pay for them. We tried very hard to resolve this without involving the courts. We never wanted the issue to reach this point and we’ve done everything possible to avoid this.
– Today in the ugly lawsuit department: Walmart and the Walton family are suing for the rights to photo negatives, some half-a-century old, in what has been classified as "a total David vs. Goliath situation." The story goes like this: Robert Huff—who owned a photography studio in Fayetteville, Ark., near where Sam Walton and his family lived—and son David snapped hundreds of shots of the Waltons over the years. Now, the Waltons want total control over them. They're suing David's widow, Helen Huff, for all negatives, proofs, and prints of the photos, dating from 1950 to 1994, to prevent them from being used for commercial purposes, the Washington Post reports. Walmart and the family intend to use some of the photos—of its founder, the original Walmart board of directors, and the Walmart visitor's center—in the Walmart Museum, and argue the material was only kept by the studio "as a courtesy," the Professional Photographers of America notes. The Post and the Arkansas Times explain the question at the center of the case: When the photos were snapped, who was the boss? Huff says her husband and father-in-law were independent contractors who used their own equipment and managed all the aspects of the shoots and film processing; the Waltons claim the shoots occurred under their "supervision," making it an employer-employee relationship. The case will be heard in Arkansas federal court July 7. (Click to read about how Walmart is taking flak for the fees collected by banks that operate within the chain.)