FAIR USE WEEK February 23-27 (Part 1)

Images from Barack Obama "Hope" poster. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia http://goo.gl/WGlEkx

On the right is the Barack Obama “Hope” poster by artist Shepard Fairey, widely used in the 2008 Obama presidential campaign. On the left is a 2006 photograph by Associated Press (AP) photographer, Manny Garcia. Fairey did not ask for permission to use the image in his artwork. He also did not pay the AP to use the image. When the Associated Press sued for compensation, Fairey went to court to seek a judgment that his poster was “fair use” of the original photograph.

According to Stanford University Libraries (http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/), fair use is “ any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement.”

Do you think Fairey’s use of the photograph was fair use? Check in tomorrow to learn the answer!

Elizabeth Ramsey,
Reference & Instruction Librarian