Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
A press release out from the Associated Press today announces that the media giant has finally reached terms with Shepard Fairey (there’s a name that must’ve produced a brutal childhood), the artist who created the iconic “Hope” posters of then-Senator Obama by using an AP photo without permission. Putting aside the intellectual property questions in the case, this was the section of the release I found provocative:
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.
I’m admittedly under-schooled in the mechanics of these sorts of business arrangements, but does it seem slightly strange to anyone else to have the Associated Press – which prides itself on being an objective news source -- standing to take a cut from the sales of Obama schwag?
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Dec '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
It's not that the AP is looking to promote Obama schwag, it's just looking for compensation for the use of its copyrighted image. The AP will sell you reprints of images to which it holds copyright (or to which it is authorized by the copyright holder to sell reprints). In this case, there's no practical way to walk back the copyright violation and take the HOPE image out of circulation, so the remedy in copyright law is to give the copyright owner the unfair profit earned by the entity that pirated the image.
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Stuart,
Without knowing the intricacies of copyright law, I figured that the lion's share of this was just an exercise in fairly standard remedies. What I found a bit strange was the reference to "making the posters and merchandise". Does the AP (or do similar organizations) typically do that? Or should that just be understood as a "right" to do so, which the AP won't actually exercise directly, but will instead monetize by allowing others to create the merchandise for a fee?
Aug '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
I would think that any potential "earnings" from the Hope symbol have evaporated given the brutal job Obama's done in the past two years...
Dec '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Troy: here's an interesting bit of the article.
"The AP contended that Mr. Fairey copied all of the original, creative expression in the AP’s photograph without crediting or compensating the AP, and that Mr. Fairey’s unlicensed use of the photograph was not a fair use. Mr. Fairey claimed that he did not appropriate any copyrightable material from the AP’s photo, and that, in any event, his use of the photograph constituted a fair use under copyright law.
"In settling the lawsuit, the AP and Mr. Fairey have agreed that neither side surrenders its view of the law."
If AP prevailed in court, it would be entitled to all profits Fairey made from use of its copyrighted material; if Fairey prevailed, AP would get nothing. Looks like they agreed to drop any court battle in return for Fairey sharing the HOPE product profits.
Normally the AP would not sell the HOPE image because it's not a news photo... but since it IS news in and of itself, and they have the right to sell it, they might decide to -- just as a news artifact, of course.
Dec '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Fairey himself must be a bit perturbed that DreamWorks parodied his work in some of its marketing posters for the animated movie Megamind. Wonder if Spielberg paid him?
Jan '11
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
I don't find the partnership itself unusual, but I'm still perplexed by their expectation of profit
Nov '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
If the Associated Press prides itself on being an "objective news source," it is lying to itself and everyone else. Once you assume that the AP is as (liberally) biased as any other fixture of the MSM, there is nothing strange about their decision to make a profit off the man they are committed to keeping in office. And yes, it is a gross conflict of interest.
Jan '11
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Lady K - the whole lead up to 2008 was full of conflicts of interest. CNN had an almost continuous loop of the Obama commemorative plate commercial. I would love to know to what degree networks were biased by those sorts of interests alone!
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
I can only imagine the shocked outcry from the principled defenders of press independence if, say, it were Fox News licensing an iconic and adulatory image of Bush.
If The Onion had any guts, they'd report on the Obama Administration outsourcing its press and public relations to the AP.
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Lady Kurobara
And yes, it is a gross conflict of interest. · Jan 12 at 5:12pm
Agreed, and it's avoidable. They could have settled with Mr. Fairey for a lump-sum portion of past profits with a sweetener that would cover (any, to Erik Larsen's point) profits both sides could anticipate going forward. Then, they wouldn't have any ongoing incentive, however slight, to shill for Obama.
Nov '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Ottoman Umpire
Lady Kurobara
And yes, it is a gross conflict of interest.
Agreed, and it's avoidable. They could have settled with Mr. Fairey for a lump-sum portion of past profits with a sweetener that would cover...profits both sides could anticipate going forward. Then, they wouldn't have any ongoing incentive, however slight, to shill for Obama.
The sad, even frightening, thing is, everyone involved gets away with it, because there is no one to keep them honest. The duty of the Fourth Estate is to monitor itself as well as the government. But the MSM has betrayed the public trust and is now thoroughly corrupt — a pimp and a whore for the government. This is not a small problem.
Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?
(Who watches the watchmen?)
Edited on Jan 12, 2011 at 8:09pmMay '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
No more than conservative talk radio which seems to be the only place I hear advertisements for government sponsored programs including mortage bailouts and SBA loans.
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Lady Kurobara
If the Associated Press prides itself on being an "objective news source," it is lying to itself and everyone else. Once you assume that the AP is as (liberally) biased as any other fixture of the MSM, there is nothing strange about their decision to make a profit off the man they are committed to keeping in office. And yes, it is a gross conflict of interest. · Jan 12 at 5:12pm
Having worked for some years at a former tool of the vast left-wing conspiracy, Time Inc., I can assure you that the people on the business side of AP did not even consider the political ramifications of the deal. They negotiated the best terms possible with only profit as consideration and this happened completely apart and away from anything that is happening in the newsroom. Any accusation of bias in the AP newsroom may be perfectly fair, but this transaction is not evidence of it. That's just not how media organizations work. I think Troy's post is funny, but unpersuasive -- this deal is innocuous.
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Fairey also has a reputation in the street art community for appropriating an image of Andre the Giant and repeating it with stencils, stickers and posters called the "Obey Giant" series. I always thought it was a kind of commentary about the oppressive nature of society's conventions or the cult of personality blah, blah, blah. When I first saw the "Hope" posters I thought he was being ironic, as if to say "how about the crazy fascination with Obama?" or "you must hope, or else." But it seems he wasn't being ironic at all, which kinda makes him a hack. So, since there's a precedent, the deal makes sense. But he lost major "edgy artist" points with me.
Edited on Jan 13, 2011 at 1:41amNov '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Let us observe a moment of silence for the death of another innocent illusion.
Rule of thumb: Any artist who makes a conscious effort to be "edgy" is, by default, nothing but a hack. Fairey's work is hip and glib; it lacks the essential quality of real Art: passion.
Nov '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Trace Urdan
Lady Kurobara
Once you assume that the AP is as (liberally) biased as any other fixture of the MSM...it is a gross conflict of interest.
Having worked for some years at a former tool of the vast left-wing conspiracy, Time Inc., I can assure you that the people on the business side of AP did not even consider the political ramifications of the deal.
That is exactly the problem.
Trace Urdan
Any accusation of bias in the AP newsroom may be perfectly fair, but this transaction is not evidence of it. That's just not how media organizations work. I think Troy's post is funny, but unpersuasive -- this deal is innocuous.
The concept of "conflict of interest" is as much about appearances as about the actual existence (or degree) of any real wrong-doing. From the Wiki:
"A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly [emphasis mine] corrupt the motivation for an act in the other."
It does not matter if the deal is "innocuous." It simply looks bad. And that is enough to make it a full-blown conflict of interest.
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Lady Kurobara
Rule of thumb: Any artist who makes a conscious effort to be "edgy" is, by default, nothing but a hack. Fairey's work is hip and glib; it lacks the essential quality of real Art: passion. · Jan 13 at 8:08am
I don't know if I'd completely agree with you on that. Ever seen Exit Through The Gift Shop? Some might call him misguided, but I think he was/is certainly passionate. And his HOPE piece is now part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. He's made an impact, even if it was only a cultural phenomenon.
May '10
Re: Associated Press Monetizes Its Interest in Obama?
Karen
Lady Kurobara
Rule of thumb: Any artist who makes a conscious effort to be "edgy" is, by default, nothing but a hack. Fairey's work is hip and glib; it lacks the essential quality of real Art: passion. · Jan 13 at 8:08am
I don't know if I'd completely agree with you on that. Ever seen Exit Through The Gift Shop? Some might call him misguided, but I think he was/is certainly passionate. And his HOPE piece is now part of the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. He's made an impact, even if it was only a cultural phenomenon. · Jan 13 at 9:07am