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24 Sep 2010 20:39

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Politics: Shepard Fairey: Obama didn’t turn out to be like the poster

  • There’s a lot of stuff completely out of Obama’s control or any of the Democrats’ control. But I think there’s something a little deeper in terms of the optimism of the younger voter that’s happening. They wanted somebody who was going to fight against the status quo, and I don’t think that Obama has done that.
  • “Hope” Poster creator Shepard Fairey • Admitting that Obama’s potential hasn’t been met in the nearly two years he’s been in office. While he still largely supports the president, he doesn’t feel that if in the same position today he would’ve drawn the “Hope” poster. Beyond the politics, maybe he’s just a little frustrated by the whole thing – see, he’s been embroiled in a pretty rough copyright infringement suit with the Associated Press for a while. source

14 Mar 2010 21:39

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Culture: Protip: If you build an effective propaganda poster, Conan will pay you

  • Nice deal, dude! One guy who definitely deserves a payday is artist Mike Mitchell, whose “I’m With Coco” illustration is up there with Shepard Fairey’s oft-litigated Obama “Hope” poster in terms of iconic status. Mitchell licensed rights to Conan’s people for the image (currently getting used on O’Brien’s tour), and he made out with a pretty hefty payday. It’s like he won the lottery. source

17 Oct 2009 21:55

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Politics: Standing up for Shepard Fairey: Yeah, the guy still has a case

  • Let’s look at The AP’s actual claim. They’re saying that you can’t create ANYTHING that uses their content as mere reference material without paying them. They’ve done similar things with bloggers in the past, and their policies are, in a word, nuts.
  • True/Slant blogger Justin Gardner • On the nature of Shepard Fairey’s fair use claims against the Associated Press for creating the Obama “Hope” poster. Regarding Fairey’s end of the bargain, he says, “Yes, Fairey lying about this was wrong, stupid, etc. Shame on him for that.” Even so, “that doesn’t make his use of the photo copyright infringement.” Gardner goes further to point out that the AP sent the photographer there to shoot GEORGE CLOONEY, not Barack Obama. Because, at the time, Obama wasn’t this iconic political superhero that he is now (or he was in January). • source

17 Oct 2009 10:04

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U.S.: Shepard Fairey completely screws up his Obama copyright case

Shepard Faireys Obama “Hope” poster at the National Portrait gallery
  • You screwed up, Shep. What could have been an iconic bellwether in the debate between copyright and fair use just had a major wrench thrown in it. Fairey’s poster, which he originally said was based off a different photo than the one the Associated Press thought he used, was in fact based off the one the AP claimed. Rather than coming clean and admitting he was wrong, he deleted the evidence off his computer. He finally admitted he was wrong yesterday, and says he’ll continue to fight the case, but dude will have to get some new lawyers. When fighting a case like this, Shep, don’t screw it up – it makes everyone in your shoes look really bad. source

03 Aug 2009 20:27

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Politics: Obama Joker posters take over L.A. because change is so 2008

We have another suggestion to put at the bottom of these posters: Lame. Vitriol didn’t get Obama into office, kids. It won’t get him out. source

13 Jul 2009 01:00

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Biz, U.S.: The fight over Shepard Fairey’s Obama “Hope” illo gets messy

  • Plaintiffs have profited from the sales of Mr. Garcia’s copyrighted photograph image and Defendant AP seeks to reap some of the profit by claiming that it – and not Mr. Garcia – is the rightful owner of the copyright in the photograph.
  • A legal memorandum in support of photographer Manuel Garcia • Regarding Fairey v. Associated Press, i.e. the legal battle over the iconic Obama “Hope” poster. For those not in the loop, Shepard Fairey did an immaculate illustration based on a photo Garcia shot and AP ran on the wire. After it blew up, AP sued Fairey, who claimed fair use. Now, Garcia’s claiming neither of them have the right to claim that photo as theirs. We agree that Garcia has a claim over this, but point out that if you look on Getty Images, Obama has literally hundreds of photos taken of him each week (and in April of 2006 alone, he showed up on Getty 41 times) – a fact which we think dilutes both his and AP’s claims. He’s a famous person who gets photographed a lot. Fairey just grabbed a random photo. • source

17 Apr 2009 10:25

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Biz: This is why the Associated Press should not fight a copyright war

  • The AP claims copyright ownership in, and makes commercial use of, many photographs that consist almost entirely of copyrighted artwork of Fairey and other artists without permission.
  • Excerpt from “Fairey Answer to AP Counterclaims” • This court document from Shepard Fairey (the guy behind the iconic Obama poster and Obey Giant), among other things, attacks the Associated Press for a double standard. The AP is asking Fairey for compensation for using one of their photos to create his Obama artwork. Fairey then sued to have a court say his art is fair use. The document notes that the AP used his artwork and the artwork of others to create numerous photos which they then sell on their Web site. Double standard, anyone? • source