Constitutional Law

Obama Poster Artist Seeks Protection of Work

The Associated Press claims that California artist Shepard Fairey improperly used a photo it says it owns to create the iconic Obama poster. But as The New York Times notes, it is Fairey who is seeking court action to protect his work. The Times reported yesterday on a lawsuit lodged by Fairey against the AP arguing that his use of a photo by Mannie Garcia does not subvert copyright law. Fairey's attorneys told The Times that the artist used Garcia’s photo as a jumping off point to create a “stunning, abstracted and idealized visual image that created powerful new meaning and conveys a racially different message” from Garcia’s photo. The lawyers added that any use of the photo by Fairey is protected under the “fair-use exceptions to copyright law,” The Times reported. Julie A. Ahrens, associate director of the Fair Use Project told the newspaper that Fairey should “not have to put up with misguided threats from The A.P.” Apparently the AP contacted Fairey recently to demand money for his alleged use of the Garcia photo.

Full post as published by ACS Blog on February 10, 2009 (boomark / email).