Copywrite, Faor Use & political figures

[mikee440]

Hello Members
Recently I have come up with a design that has a political candidate as the central image...lets say President Trump for example
My belief is that political figures / public servants are fair game.  The problem I am encountering is that most pictures of the prez are essentially taken by news agencies.  So if the AP or Reuters is credited with the image - does this make the pic copywrite protected & available for public (Fair)use (provided that the tee provides a commentary or is used for ummm educational purposes)?  Can a shirt that is paid for fall into this category?
Another curious thing I ran into when printing an American flag was that there not appear to be any "free" hi resolution images around, which stuck me as a little un- American.  I worked round this issue by creating my own art, but political figures are not that easy.
Thanks for any input

[StinkyDaddy]

Shepard Fairy got hammered for his Obama print based on a news photo.
https://www.wired.com/2011/01/hope-image-flap/

[mikee440]

Thanks for that.  My image is less modified that Shepards. In this situation though, if the image was not successfu,l I would guess that the AP would not pursue the matter further, which would seem like a case of selective enforcement.  If I could generate $400,000 in sales, it might be worth getting caught and working out a deal

[Sbrem]

You might want to consider that stealing is stealing, no matter what you call it. Even public figures own their image, so selling said image for profit without permission is?

Steve

When I started way back, working for 2 partners, they formed the Fonz t-shirt company. They took the image right off the TV magazine that came with the Boston Globe. They got a cease and desist from Paramount Studios, and stopped. They made a little cash, and that was it.

[mikee440]

You are correct about the stealing, but how else would I get a free image of said political / public figure.  I suppose I could use the original picture and modify or redraw it.
It would give me a good reason to get better with Corel

[GraphicDisorder]

You are correct about the stealing, but how else would I get a free image of said political / public figure.  I suppose I could use the original picture and modify or redraw it.
It would give me a good reason to get better with Corel

Take the picture yourself. With your camera.

Draw a image yourself (not as obvious as what the HOPE image was).

[mikee440]

I am getting the feeling that this may be a very difficult issue to get a clear answer on.  It may even come down to a case by case judgement call.
My intention is not to steal or pilfer and get away with it.  I would just like to move forward down a financially satisfying path with a clear conscience.
BTW Graphic Disorder is the perfect tag for this post 

[ebscreen]

Contact the photographers of pictures that would work. With the number of them out there I'd bet more than a few
would be willing to sell it/rights reasonably.

[Sbrem]

It's a matter of having permission... When folks pitch an idea to say, Disney or similar, for licensing, they have to pay up front for that license. Then you print and make the money. Please understand that I wasn't accusing you of stealing, just making the argument to not steal. Now, as others have said, draw it yourself, or maybe just use text in a clever way.
Good luck with it, I hope you get it figured out.

Steve

[Dottonedan]

Yes,  you can have a drawing done of said political person and run with that.  You probably can buy usage rights or provide a royalty to a freelance photographer who took the picture...but if they work for someone (CNN or whoever), then they own that photo and rights. Don't use someones photo without permission or paying them. It's not going to end well.

[mikee440]

Thank you for all the comments. Sbrem - I certainly don't feel like you are accusing me - your comment just helped stress that doing it the right way is better than trying to get away with something.  I welcome all productive comments - healthy discussion leads to healthy answers.  Permission / paying for usage rights would be ideal, but a quick check on Getty Images - shows a cost of ~$500.  It looks like I will be re-drawing the image myself, - which actually helps improve my skill set and lets me sleep at night

[easyrider1340]

Thank you for all the comments. Sbrem - I certainly don't feel like you are accusing me - your comment just helped stress that doing it the right way is better than trying to get away with something.  I welcome all productive comments - healthy discussion leads to healthy answers.  Permission / paying for usage rights would be ideal, but a quick check on Getty Images - shows a cost of ~$500.  It looks like I will be re-drawing the image myself, - which actually helps improve my skill set and lets me sleep at night

$500 is not really that bad for the perfect “shot”.  We’ve paid $800 to a photographer for the picture of a boat (for use in screen printing) - far less important than a president. LOL!   ...but it was the perfect shot!


Terry
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