This is a brief excerpt from the document you requested from IFAR’s Art Law & Cultural Property Database.
Case Summary
Educational Resources > Art Law and Cultural Property > Case Law and Statutes > Copyright, Moral Rights and Other Issues > Case Summary
Fairey v. The Associated Press
Fairey v. The Associated Press, No. 09-cv-01123 (S.D.N.Y. filed Feb. 2, 2009).
Précis
In this now-settled dispute, artist Shepard Fairey sought a ruling that his use of a copyrighted photograph as a “visual reference” for his Obama Hope poster and related artwork was protected under the Fair Use Doctrine. The Associated Press (the “A.P.”) and freelance photographer Mannie Garcia, both of whom separately claimed ownership of the photograph’s
copyright
A property right in an original work of authorship (including literary, musical, dramatic, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and architectural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; and sound recordings) fixed in any tangible medium of expression, giving the holder the exclusive right to reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform, and display the work (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
copyright infringement
The act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by law. In the United States, a copyright owner has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (a) to reproduce the work, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies of the work, (d) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly, (e) for certain kinds of works, to display the work publicly, (f) for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly, and (g) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
copyright infringement
The act of violating any of a copyright owner's exclusive rights granted by law. In the United States, a copyright owner has several exclusive rights in copyrighted works, including the rights (a) to reproduce the work, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies of the work, (d) for certain kinds of works, to perform the work publicly, (e) for certain kinds of works, to display the work publicly, (f) for sound recordings, to perform the work publicly, and (g) to import into the United States copies acquired elsewhere (Black’s Law Dictionary (8th ed. 2004)).
Associated Statutes and/or Legislation
Click here to subscribe to IFAR's Art Law & Cultural Property Database to access this and other documents about U.S. and international legislation and case law concerning the acquisition, authenticity, export, ownership, and copyright of art objects.