2b. Regarding the “HOPE Poster” case, I do believe that Shepard Fairey was wrong in what he did and wrongfully tampered with a confidential document that belonged to another organization. In the New York Time article, it states that Shepard was accused of infringing on the copyright of The Associated Press by using their image of Obama for his own “HOPE” poster. I do believe this was correct as not only did he not purchase a license/ask permission to use it but he also tampered with it in slight ways to make his poster. The list detailing his tampering can be found in the article “Case Study on Fair Use and Fair Dealing: The Hope Poster Litigation” in which it contains a list of modifications that Fairey made to the original document in making his “HOPE” poster. This includes “rotating the image by 5 degrees clockwise, smoothing out and stylizing features of Obama’s appearance such as his shoulders, extending his torso length below the lower boundary of the original photograph and redrawing/stylizing other features like Obama’s ears, nose, eyes, and hairline. I believe that as an artist, you hold responsibility when utilizing other photographs for reference. You owe the photographer the offer to purchase a license or sign an agreement to utilize their piece in your own work. What Fairey did was highly irresponsible and it is understandable why and how this led him to probation. His case serves as an example of how infringing on others’ images for your own work and profiting off of it can lead to harsh punishments and consequences.
Citation(s)
- “Case Study on Fair Use and Fair Dealing: The Hope Poster Litigation” Fisher, W. (2012). PDF. Cambridge; Harvard Journal of Law and Technology.
- “Use of Photography” AIGA. (2001). PDF. New York City; Richard Grefé, AIGA.
- Kennedy, R. (2012, September 7). Shepard Fairey is fined and sentenced to probation in ‘hope’ poster case. The New York Times. Retrieved October 8, 2022, from https://archive.nytimes.com/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/shephard-fairey-is-fined-and-sentenced-to-probation-in-hope-poster-case/
