Photographer Victorious in Copyright Lawsuit Against Graffiti Artist

Turns out turning photographs into stencils isn’t transformative enough to be defended as “fair use”. In a case that has many similarities to the Shepard Fairey vs. AP legal battle, a judge ruled earlier this week against graffiti artist Thierry Guetta after Guetta (AKA Mr. Brainwash) had used a “stencil-ized” photo of Run DMC by Glen E. Friedman to promote an exhibition, concluding that Guetta’s piece didn’t differ enough from the original image to be considered fair use.

What are your thoughts on this issue? How much does a photograph need to be transformed before it is considered a new piece of art?

Image credits: Photograph of Run DMC by Glen E. Friedman