Shepard Fairey vs AP; Mannie Garcia vs AP

Three months after the elections ended the Obama poster design has found itself center of a important copyright law battle. Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the Obama poster, has been forced to sue Associated Press over "fair use "of a photograph he used as inspiration for the poster and artist rights to use images and trasform them into a new image that "conveys a radically different message." . When asked during different interviews about his source of inspiration he acknowledge it was an AP photograph he found on the internet, but did not know much else about it. It was not until January that it was determined to be a photograph taken in 2006 at a charity meeting on war in Darfur by freelance photographer Mannie Garcia. Not even Garcia, who has seen the poster, recognized it as his image. When Mr Fairey, in order to avoid any future legal actions from the AP, offered to pay the AP for its use, the AP decline to negotiate and told Mr Fairey them will be taking him to court for damages. Now is up to the courts to decide whether any copyright laws were broken, or there is a new precedent for the use, and transformation, of previous works of art that convey a different idea.
In another twist to the story, freelance photographer Mannie Garcia has file a law sue against the AP over the rights of the original Obama photograph. He claims ownership of the photograph on the basis that there was no actual written contract with Associated Press.