Protecting brands

Shepard Fairey has now admitted that he based his iconic poster on a different photo than originally claimed, despite his aggressive decision to sue The Associated Press after they accused him of copyright infringement.

Now it seems AP had correctly identified the source photo after all. Worse, Fairey has admitted fabricating evidence: “In an attempt to conceal my mistake, I submitted false images and deleted other images. I sincerely apologise for my lapse in judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone.”

His whole defence was based on ‘fair use’. Now that his actions have been revealed to be suspect, it will be very difficult to convince the court of ‘fairness’.