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Important to note that his Instagram ripoffs haven't been tested in court. He has prevailed in previous court cases with art pieces that had a stronger "transfo
by mikehearn 11y ago
Important to note that his Instagram ripoffs haven't been tested in court. He has prevailed in previous court cases with art pieces that had a stronger "transformative" argument, which is a key aspect of fair use. This time the infringement seems more clear-cut. He's not transforming anything, but merely adding his own caption to an existing work. The original work is unaltered.
I was talking about this with a friend, and she said if that was sufficiently transformative for fair use to apply, then one could simply write notes in the margin of a book, call it art, and claim ownership of the book's contents.
- mbrock 11y agoIndeed. But the ruling also claims transformation isn't necessary for fair use and mentions other aspects. I also found it interesting to read the cited judge who talked about the purpose of copyright and how it is not a God-given right but a kludge to encourage creativity, like patents.