Shepard Fairey

Obama Poster Drama

Does this work fall into fair use? It is altered a lot? But is it transformative to the meaning?

http://www.artnet.com/artists/shepard-fairey/

http://beta.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-ca-cm-shepard-fairey-documentary-20171112-story.html

Read the parts of the article:  

https://blog.kenkaminesky.com/photography-copyright-and-the-law/

Copyright Laws:  

Copyright is a property right. Just because you buy a print does not mean you have purchased the copyright. Professional photographers are the smallest of small copyright holders. Under the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, photographs are protected by copyright from the moment of creation.

Q: Who owns the copyright in a photograph once it is taken?

In general, when the shutter is released, the photographer who pressed the button owns the copyright. An exception is when the image falls into the “work-made-for-hire”(also known as “work for hire”) category. A work-made-for-hire relationship is created in two situations: (1) the photographer is an employee hired to take photographs for the employer—an example would be a photojournalist who is an employee of a newspaper but not a wedding or portrait photographer who is hired for one event; or (2) the photographer is hired to provide photographs for collective works or compilations and signs a written agreement that specifically states that the work is to be considered a work made for hire. Therefore, freelance photographers are subjected to work-for-hire status only when they agree to it contractually.

Fair Use Laws:  Fair use is the right to use copyrighted materials without the copyright owner’s permission.

Lawsuits You Want to Know

https://petapixel.com/2014/10/28/8-legal-cases-every-photographer-know/