As we’ve reported in our coverage of photographer Patrick Cariou’s infringement claim against Richard Prince, Prince and his defenders argue that appropriation art does little harm to individuals from whom appropriation artists steal their raw materials. Their implied question: Where would civilization be without the great works of appropriation artists like Andy Warhol and Robert Rauschenberg?
A hearing on Morel’s motion for summary judgment is scheduled for July. The judge is unlikely to issue a decision before fall.
Link: Editorial Photographers UK
Living in the digital age has meant an unprecedented exploitation of photographs writes David Hoffman
It’s unlikely anyone will ever step forward to claim the credit for that particular piece of ingenious public relations, for it’s clear that AFP and Getty are already bracing themselves for a crushing defeat. Buried deep in their memorandum is a plea to the court that should it find in Morel’s favour, damages should be limited to a maximum of $240,000. That’s a far cry from previous ringing declarations that “in the end, we shall prevail”.
The company suddenly drew a lot of unwanted media attention starting in late February after Pinterest user Kristen Kowalski, who happens to be an attorney as well as a photographer, read the Pinterest terms of service (TOS) and realized that any copyright infringement liability rested entirely on her as a Pinterest user. In a fit of worry, she cancelled her account, and publicized her findings in a blog post as a warning to other users. Her post went viral, and suddenly Pinterest had a PR nightmare on its hands.
Tuesday, The Atlantic’s Alexis Madrigal wrote that BuzzFeed co-founder Jonah Peretti believes BuzzFeed can legally republish others’ photos in thematic packages such as “33 Animals Who Are Extremely Disappointed in You.”
“I’ve personally apologized to [student photographer] Andy Duann for the mistaken assumption that the CU Independent owned the copyright to the falling bear photo, and the resulting controversy that ensued. At Andy’s suggestion, we’re working on a new policy that will assign use of content to the CU Independent but allow content producers to retain the copyrights to their material.”
Link: British Journal of Photography
“[Agence France-Presse got caught with a hand in the cookie jar and will have to pay.” This statement, written in 2010 by an AFP photo desk editor, could become reality if a judge finds in favour of freelance photographer Daniel Morel in his two-year-long case against the French photo agency and its partner, Getty Images. Olivier Laurent reports