Huffington Post is reporting that the Associated Press is claiming copyright infringement on the image used for the iconic Obama poster. Artist Shepherd Shepard Fairey has acknowledged using an AP image as the basis for his multicolor poster. The AP and Fairey's attorney are "in negotiations" about its continued use and possible royalty payments.
More after the jump...
Here's AP's claim:
"The Associated Press has determined that the photograph used in the poster is an AP photo and that its use required permission," the AP's director of media relations, Paul Colford, said in a statement.
"AP safeguards its assets and looks at these events on a case-by-case basis. We have reached out to Mr. Fairey's attorney and are in discussions. We hope for an amicable solution."
And Fairey's attorney's statement:
"
We believe fair use protects Shepard's right to do what he did here," says Fairey's attorney, Anthony Falzone, executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University and a lecturer at the Stanford Law School. "It wouldn't be appropriate to comment beyond that at this time because we are in discussions about this with the AP."
If you ask me, AP is hurting financially and looking for a way to cash in. Jerks.
UPDATE: Kos apparently agrees with me as he has put his own diary on the front page about this same topic. There is thick irony here that although I was first to post on a topic about primacy of authorship, now two others have done so. At least ItsSimpleSimon gave me credit for being first. Maybe I should hire the AP lawyers and sue for infringement of the DKos etiquette guidelines.<snark>