The Artful Jurist

Shepard Fairey, the artist who got embroiled in a lawsuit with the Associated Press over his artistic modification of an A.P. photo, in which he created the now famous Barack Obama "Hope" poster, has suffered a huge blow to his much publicized case. According to news reports, Fairey has now admitted that he falsified information about which photo he used as the model for the poster, and he also admitted to destroying some evidence. The result: Fairey's suit against the A.P. could be in a shambles, and, because they were lied to by their client, his lawyers have quit.

Fairey's iconic poster of then presidential candidate Obama drew almost immediate protests from the A.P., which claims it never gave the artist permission to make a derivative work of its copyright protected photograph. In what was supposed to be a prophylactic measure, Fairey sued the A.P., claiming he was entitled to use the photo under copyright law's "fair use doctrine." The A.P. countersued, and then the photographer who actually took the photo got into the mix claiming that he, and not the A.P., actually owned the copyright.

It's not certain whether Fairey will continue his suit against the A.P. But the A.P., now with a stronger case, is likely to continue its suit against Fairey.