Pixiq

As photographers and immediate owners of our copyrighted images made at the time of click we often are given choices as to whom we allow rights to those images.

A recent debate that’s been all over the interwebs has cropped up over the fair use of a photograph used to depict President (then Senator) Obama during his campaign. While I don’t want to alienate our international readers, I do feel that the issue of fair use is a global issue, I want to focus on that particular debate in today’s post.

Obama Poster

Backstory:

Graphic artist Shepard Fairey created the iconic poster “Hope” for the Obama campaign (no doubt you’ve seen this).

Said poster was created in likeness of a photograph taken by one Manny/Mannie (I’ve seen it spelled both ways) Garcia.

At the time, Garcia was working on an AP story.

The Associated Press is now claiming copyright infringement on Shepard Fairey.

Problem is that there is a current discussion on whether or not the AP even owns the copyright to said image. Garcia was not under contract with the Associated Press so Garcia may in fact own the copyrights to the now famous photograph.

Should Shepard Fairey get sued by the AP?

Is this a clear case of fair use?

“Clearly he used the image as a reference, but he did his own take on it.” as reported by Jeff Finely of GoMediaZine.

“This is reasonable, then, to suggest that Fairey might have been aware that he needed to have rights for a photo that is the basis for his artwork, and that a “fair use” argument might not be as strong as they were initially arguing.” as reported by John Harrington of the Photo Business News & Forum after citing an interview in which Fairey admitted to being asked by the Obama campaign for “a portrait from a photo that we have the rights to”.

And if you’re interested in a really fantastic breakdown of how this may legally play in court read Carolyn’s take on the matter over at Photo Attorney.

I want to hear your thoughts. Do you think that the infringement of this image allows the Associated Press the latitude to sue Shepard Fairey? This is an open discussion designed to see your thoughts in the comments section below.