Shepard Fairey and the Associated Press came to an out-of-court settlement agreement today regarding the copyright infringement lawsuit the AP filed against Fairey for his use of AP photographer Mannie Garcia's picture of Barack Obama in his infamous HOPE campaign poster. A press release from the AP reads:
The case pushed the limits of copyright and trademark infringement and called into question a number of philosophical and legal positions surrounding what constitutes fair use. Although there was no court ruling on the matter, it remains to be seen whether or not this will become a landmark case setting a precedent for how these kinds of conflicts will be handled in the future."Mr. Fairey has agreed that he will not use another AP photo in his work without obtaining a license from the AP. The two sides have also agreed to work together going forward with the Hope image and share the rights to make the posters and merchandise bearing the Hope image and to collaborate on a series of images that Fairey will create based on AP photographs. The parties have agreed to additional financial terms that will remain confidential."