What an idiot….
Shepard Fairey, the artist whose “Hope” poster of Barack Obama became an iconic emblem of the presidential campaign, has admitted that he lied about which photograph from The Associated Press he used as his source, and that he then covered up evidence to substantiate his lie.
Mr. Fairey’s admission, which he made public on Friday, threw his legal battle with the news agency into disarray.
The A.P. claimed in January that Mr. Fairey owed it credit and compensation for using the photograph. But in February Mr. Fairey sued The A.P., seeking a declaratory judgment that the poster did not infringe on the agency’s copyrights and that he was entitled to the image under the “fair use” exception of the copyright law. The A.P. countersued in March, saying Mr. Fairey had misappropriated the photograph.
Mr. Fairey told the agency — and his own lawyers — that he had used a photograph from an April 27, 2006, event about Darfur at the National Press Club in Washington where Mr. Obama was seated next to the actor George Clooney. Instead, the photograph he used was from the same event, but was a solo image of Mr. Obama’s head, tilted in intense concentration.
via Artist Admits Using Other Photo for ‘Hope’ Poster – NYTimes.com.
…..and his defense?
“In an attempt to conceal my mistake, I submitted false images and deleted other images,” Mr. Fairey said in a statement, released on his Web site. “I sincerely apologize for my lapse in judgment, and I take full responsibility for my actions, which were mine alone.”
Mr. Fairey’s lawyers said they intended to withdraw when he could find new counsel.
“There are lots of reasons that it becomes difficult or effectively impossible for a lawyer to continue to represent a client in this situation,” Anthony Falzone, Mr. Fairey’s lawyer and the executive director of the Fair Use Project at Stanford University, said in a telephone interview Saturday. “We have informed The A.P.’s lawyers that we do intend to withdraw as counsel upon transition to new lawyers.”
Mr. Falzone called the disclosure “a very unfortunate situation.” But he added that regardless which photograph Mr. Fairey used, the copyright issues remained unchanged. “We still believe, as strongly as ever, in the underlying fair use and expression issues of this case,” he said.
In other words, He lied like a dog; and proceeded to try and cover up for his lies, by lying some more. But he still has a case for fair use! What a joke! Put this lying stack crap behind bars for a few years. That is unless his “Magic Messiah” does not come out and order the courts to drop the suit. Which would not surprise me at all. After all, he was getting “The One” elected was he not?
Just more living proof that socialist scum have no originality and what they cannot legally use; they steal. Just look at all of the bail-outs of the banks, and auto companies. They were stealing our money to bail out failed businesses. Look at all the property that has been taken by the Government under the “Eminent domain” laws; liberals gave us that nonsense. It means that one day, the Government can say, “we want this property” and they can set you out, and take you property, no questions asked. That is basically legalized theft. Which is basically what this Fairey guy is trying to do. Which is stealing someone else’s property in the name of art.