Ethics Assignment #2

As a student, I have in the past used other’s creative work as a source of inspiration, references, and evidence. I have always been very careful to give the artist credit in order to avoid plagiarism. If I can’t for whatever reason locate the name of the artist, I link the site where I got the image, text, etc. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for graphic artist Shepard Fairey. In order to create the “Hope Poster” to help Obama’s presidential campaign, Fairey used photographer’s Mannie Garcia’s photo, which he got off Google images, as a base for his poster. Fairey did not credit Garcia, and for that reason had to face legal repercussions. In the end, the resolution to the Fairey copyright case was Fairey agreeing to not use another’s work without a license and giving credit, both parties will have rights to create and distribute the poster, and a collaboration from both parties to create a new set of images. They also agreed to financial terms that weren’t discussed with the public. I believe this was a fair outcome for the case. Both parties ended up with what they wanted, and along the process, the details and the purpose of the copyright laws were clarified and strengthened for future use in other alike cases.