As the URL of my Web site might indicate, I am a huge supporter of the use of derivative works to create new art.
And I've long thought that the Shepard Fairey HOPE Poster dude was a selfish liar. He used someone else's copyrighted work to create something completely brand-new and wonderful. And then sued the people he stole from. And now he admits that he lied:
''Shepard Fairey has now been forced to admit that he sued the AP under
false pretenses by lying about which AP photograph he used,'' said AP
vice president and general counsel Srinandan R. Kasi. ''Mr. Fairey has
also now admitted to the AP that he fabricated and attempted to destroy
other evidence in an effort to bolster his fair use case and cover up
his previous lies and omissions.''*
Although he said he was ''very sorry to have hurt and disappointed colleagues, friends, and family,'' Fairey said that the real issue was ''the right to fair use'' so artists can create freely.
''Regardless of which of the two images was used,'' he said, ''the fair use issue should be the same.''
Wrong. People should have the right to use any and all copyrighted works and also have the right to be paid when other people make money off of your work. That's what I proposed in my Derivative Works Manifesto in 2005. It's simple:
Here's what we need now:
- A universal acknowledgment of this right to create derivative
works from our experience of owned content without regard to the wishes
of the original content owner- A set of guidelines that inject mutual respect, recognition, and accountability into the process of creating derivative works
- An automatic compensation system that ensures payment to reward original creators while inducing new artists
Under this system, Fairey could openly say that he took the original photo. In a perfect world, there would be an automatic item ID in the image that would indicate that. If he never made a dime off the resulting new work (his posters, stickers, art pieces, etc.), then the AP and the photographer would have never made any money, either. But once Fairey starts raking in money– real money, directly from sales of the new work– the upstream people would get money, too. It's only fair.
Lying is dumb. Let's just all be honest, and acknowledge that we're all constantly stealing stuff from other places. It's become the most fundamental artistic reflex of this young century. Let's get our acts together and let the technology and law catch up to reality.