Case Studies on Design

(Copyright infringements, licensing, and plagiarism)

Balanga, Patricia Mae B.

FA 104 E

EX 03
 Copying, plagiarizing, and getting inspiration from one’s artwork are some actions in

the design industry that will and should not be tolerated. The copyright of a design gives the

owner the right to say how other people can use their work. If someone copies a work without

permission, the owner can say they infringed their copyright. One of the most famous cases

of copyright infringement in the design industry is the case of Obama’s face turned into a

poster. The artist, Shepard Fairey, designer of the Obama HOPE poster (2008), received a

case of using Obama’s portrait, taken by Mannie Garcia (2006). Based on 99designs article,

the photograph was allegedly based on the HOPE poster designed by Mr. Fairey. With this,

Associated Press, Mr. Garcia, demanded compensation for the use of the work.

Figure 1. Photograph: Mannie Garcia – 2006 (via The New York Times); Poster:

Shephard Fairey – 2008 (via Wikipedia).

The two artists, Garcia and Fairey, settled the case by coming to a private settlement

in January 2011, 2 years after the case rose. Part of that settlement was to split the profits that

the work gained. However, both parties might have disagreed that the copyright was

infringed during their private settlement. The Associated Press asserted in February 2009 that

its copyright had been infringed and that any use of the image required its permission
(Dunlap, 2011).

In this case, I agree with Mr. Garcia’s sentiments of demanding for a compensation

because as a photographer, that is his own work. Even though Mr. Fairey claimed that the

poster did not reduce the value of Mr. Garcia’s portrait of Obama and that it was a fair use, it

still somehow infringed the copyright of the portrait as to how other people would use it. In

this case, it is how Mr. Fairey used it to make the HOPE poster.

Another case in the design industry that received news is involving Red Dot Design Award

competition. Fan Yu, a Chinese Art Professor, submitted two poster series and both were

awarded prizes; however, this resulted to noticing the copyright infringement of existing

illustrations by Russell Cob. In an article, Fan Yu indeed copied elements of Russell Cob’s

images very closely and added additional elements to probably cover up the similarity of both

illustrations. The infringed artworks were created in 2011 by Russell Cobb and the

infringement by Fan Yu was confirmed in April.

Figure 2. Left: Russell Cobb (original); Right: Fan Yu illustrations

 for Red Dot Award competition.

This infringement was one of the hot topics because the violator, Fan Yu, not only

won awards for it but also gained a promotion to become an associate professor. Apparently,

Russell Cobb was contacted by some of Fan Yu’s friends with an invitation to meet. Cobb

stated that they were more threatening than being friendly. Based on the article, it was not

taken to court but as a result, Fan Yu was exposed in international press, banned for life from

the awards, and lost his position at the university. With this case, it is very frustrating how

Fan Yu tried to cover up his mistakes and his infringement. This case study can be a lesson

for designers to know the rights to their design.

Sources:

Ellison, K. (2013). ​5 famous copyright infringement cases (and what you can learn).​

Retrieved from

https://99designs.com/blog/tips/5-famous-copyright-infringement-cases/.

Dunlap, D. W. (2011). ​Obama Image Copyright Case Is Settled​. Retrieved from

https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/obama-image-copyright-case-is-settled/.

N.A. (n.d.). Case Study: Copyright Infringement. Retrieved from

https://theaoi.com/2018/10/08/case-study-copyright-infringement/.