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Court dismisses lawsuit over erotic book with couple's photo

CINCINNATI -- A federal appeals court has spiked an Ohio couple's case against companies that distributed an erotic fiction book about a woman's desire for New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Tuesday upheld a lower court's dismissal of the case against Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Smashwords filed by a couple referred to as John and Jane Roe.

The couple says an engagement photo that shows them embracing was pulled from their photographer's website without their knowledge and used on the cover of the digitally published "A Gronking to Remember."

The couple's lawsuit describes the 2014 book as raunchy and says their privacy rights were violated.

The judges ruled they failed to show the companies were aware of any photo rights issue or had liability.