Shepherd Fairey vs. the Associated Press

The Shepherd Fairey vs. the Associated Press case is definitely one that requires close inspection to decide whether or not Copyright Law was violated. Photographs are automatically protected by copyright, so the copyright for the photo Fairey used for his work would have belonged to the photographer Mannie Garcia and in part to Associated Press as his employer (x). Fairey claimed that his use of the photo fell under Fair Use, but I'm not so certain that it did, especially when considering the fourth deciding factor of determining Fair Use as stated in the FAQ. Fairey's work was spread so widely and used so much that became an iconic image, but I had never even seen Garcia's original photo before this assignment. This instance is a perfect example of the copied work "substitut[ing] for the original in the market" and therefore not falling under the protection of Fair Use. If Fairey had planned on or assumed his poster design would be as widely proliferated as it ended up becoming, he should have asked permission and worked something out with Garcia/the Associated Press before putting his largely-copied work out in the public.