An earlier post on Shepard Fairey, creator of an iconic image promoting Barack Obama, noted efforts by The Associated Press to allege and settle a copyright infringement claim. The AP had alleged that Fairey infringed AP copyright in a photograph by Mannie Garcia.

Fairey and his legal team apparently have decided to settle the matter before a court rather than in the press or by private meeting. Fairey and his company, Obey Giant Art, Inc., filed suit against The Associated Press before the federal district court for the Southern District of New York.

Fairey's complaint asks the court for a declaratory judgment that Fairey's work does not infringe any copyright held by the AP and are protected by the fair use doctrine (a defense in US copyright law to a claim of infringement). Specifically, Fairey argues In his complaint that he:

"transformed the literal depiction contained in the Garcia Photograph into a stunning, absracted and idealized visual image that creates powerful new meaning and conveys a radically different message that has no analogue in the original photo."

I don't usually comment on pending litigation, but as in my earlier post have to wonder: what was the AP thinking, and what was it hoping to accomplish?