Shepard Fairey comes out swinging (LATimes) {Obama poster flap}

[eppur_se_muova]

Whose Obama is it anyway?

Shepard Fairey is fighting back and suing the Associated Press, which had accused the Los Angeles street artist of violating its copyright when he used an AP photo (left) to create the "Hope" poster of candidate Barack Obama (right).

Fairey's lawsuit says he and his company, Obey Giant Art Inc., used the photograph “as a visual reference for a highly transformative purpose. Fairey altered the original with new meaning, new expression and new messages.”

Bloomberg News reports that according to Fairey's complaint, his work is protected by the Fair Use statute, which allows limited use of copyrighted material to make original works of art.

But an AP spokesman said in a statement: “The photograph used in the poster is an AP photo, and its use required permission from AP."
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more: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/culturemonster/2009/02/shepard-faire-3.html