Ask AP

Ask AP
FILE- In this Jan. 12, 2009 photo, Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey poses for a picture with his Barack Obama Hope artwork in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles. Fairey is the designer of the famous Obama campaign poster and also the Obey-Andre the Giant poster of a few years back. Copyright law allows some copying for certain very limited purposes that serve the public interest. For example, copying portions of a work to comment on it, for research or to review or analyze it can be "fair use." Courts go through a four-factor analysis to decide if a particular use is or isn't fair use. Fairey sued The Associated Press in February 2009, arguing that he had so transformed his source material that he was protected by "fair use" guidelines. The AP countersued in March, saying Fairey had violated copyright laws. The photos in question were taken by Mannie Garcia, on assignment for the AP. Garcia filed his own lawsuit in July, claiming he owned the copyright. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)