The Associated Press accuses Shepard Fairey, a Los- Angeles based street artist and Charleston native, of copyright infringement. Although never officially endorsed by the Obama campaign, Fairey’s “Obama Hope” became the iconic image of last year’s presidential election and has led to the sale of hundreds of thousands of posters and stickers.
Fairey’s “Obama Hope” image features a pensive looking Obama in a Warhole-style, splashed in red, white, and blue and underlined with Barack’s catch phrase “Hope.” The Associated Press has determined that the image used by Fairey is an AP photo and believe they should receive credit and compensation for it’s use.
While Fairey does acknowledges that his image is based on an AP photo he disagrees with the AP’s claims. Fairey says he found the photo using Google and his image is an interpretation; it is a drawn image that merely resembles a photo, therefore he did not need the AP’s permission for it’s use. Fairey says he did not receive any money raised by the image and says that the legal concept of fair use protects his rights.
Fair use allows exceptions to copyright law based on how much the original is used, what the new work is used for, and how the original is affected by the new work. The popularity of the “Obama Hope” Obama did not end with the innaguaration, it will be in Fairey’s solo show for the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and has been added the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. Currently, Fairey and the AP are in discussion about the copyright situation and the continued use of the poster after the election. —Candice Summers
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