Courtesy charitybuzz

Shepard Fairey, "Obama Hope" (2008)

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Fairey has responded to the AP's complaint that he broke copyright laws when he appropriated an AP photograph of Barack Obama by saying that the AP itself broke copyright laws by running without permission an image of the poster he created with it.

The artist's lawyers argued in papers filed in a New York court on Wednesday that while the artist's use of the photograph, by photojournalist Mannie Garcia, is protected by the First Amendment and fair-use laws, the AP should have gotten permission to run his work.

The complaint reads: "On January 7, 2009, The AP distributed a story entitled 'Iconic Obama portrait headed to Smithsonian museum' by Brett Zongker. The AP's article included a photograph attributed to The AP, which depicted Fairey's Obama Hope Stencil Collage that now hangs in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution.... The AP did not obtain a license to use Fairey's work in this photograph. As shown below, the photograph attributed to The AP consists of nothing more than a literal reproduction of Fairey's work."

The AP announced in February that Fairey had violated copyright laws by using the Garcia photo. Fairey responded by filing suit seeking a declaratory judgment that his image was protected by fair use doctrine, as well as an injunction against the AP to prevent it from asserting its copyright against Fairey or anyone possessing or using the "Hope" image. The AP filed suit on March 11 alleging that Fairey had “misappropriated the AP’s rights” and seeking credit and compensation.