How much was copied?

The law favors those who use only a small portion of the original work.

Look at the two images and decide for yourself.

The law favors uses that do not lower the value of the original work.Fairey: AP sells most of its photos to news organizations. This photo only had value as a record of an event in 2006. Fairey’s use of the photo gave it a lot of publicity and actually increased its value.AP: AP licenses its photos for many purposes. For example, political campaigns frequently buy licenses to copy photos. If artists and others copy AP photos without paying for a license, AP will lose a lot of money.

How did it effect the original’s value?

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Was it done for commercial purposes? (The law favors non-commercial uses.)Fairey: No, it was not a commercial use. I made no money from the posters. I donated all the money to making more posters, and I gave away hundreds of thousands of posters free.

AP: Yes, it was a commercial use. He sold T-shirts, etc. What he did with the money does not matter.

1.

Did it transform the copy-righted work? (The law favors creativity over just copying.)

Fairey: Yes, it completely changed it. It took a news photo and changed it into a “stunning, abstracted and idealized visual image” with a powerful new meaning and message.

AP: No, it hardly changed the original photo. Fairey kept “the heart and essence” of the original, including “its patriotic theme.” Fairey’s art is just “computerized paint by numbers.”

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