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Photographer suing memorabilia store for selling Odor-Bautista punch picture

Ronald Martinez / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The punch heard 'round the world has apparently led to a dispute in court.

Rogelio Albert Pena, the photographer who snapped a picture of Texas Rangers second baseman Rougned Odor punching Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday alleging a memorabilia store in Dallas was selling the photo without his permission.

Pena, a Dallas-based photographer who alleges he has full copyright of the image, first noticed the picture being sold for $19.99 in the store called "Field of Dreams".

He is seeking $150,000 in damages while claiming "willful infringement" and is asking for all of the profits recorded from the picture's sales, according to ESPN's Darren Rovell.

Since Odor delivered the epic punch to Bautista's face, the well depicted act has been predominantly featured on social media among fans. "Field of Dreams" owner, Mark Phillips, says he's confused as to why Pena filed a lawsuit directed towards his business.

"It's pretty much all over the place," Phillips said. "I'm not sure why he singled us out.

"Ninety-five percent of the photos we sell are licensed through PhotoFile," he said. "In some cases, there's a better photo of an event, and we'll sell that. In our 23 years, we've never been told that what we were selling was someone else's property."

Phillips acknowledged that the store has made approximately $4,000 in sales from the famous baseball photo and says he had yet to hear from Pena or his lawyer.

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