1. During the 2008 presidential campaign, a graphic designer found a photo of Barack Obama on the Internet, modified it to look more like a graphic design, and made the very popular “Hope” campaign poster without credit to the photographer or permission from the Associated Press, which owns the photo. AP argued that the designer infringed AP’s copyright and that the design, on sweatshirts, etc., produced hundreds of thousands of dollars in income. The designer claimed his use was a fair use. Using the fair use criteria, evaluate the claims
2. The first Mickey Mouse cartoon appeared more than 80 years ago. Give ethical and/or social arguments both for and against each of the following uses of the cartoon or the Mickey Mouse character without authorization from the company that owned or owns the copyright. Tell which side you think is stronger, and why. Do not consider the copyright time period under current law or arguments about the ethics of obeying or breaking laws.
• Post a digitized copy of the original cartoon on a video-sharing site.
• Use the Mickey Mouse character as the spokeperson in an advertisement very strongly critical of a candidate running for president.
• Edit a digitized copy of the original cartoon to improve visual and sound quality, produce copies with the dialog dubbed in various other languages, and sell thousands of copies in other countries.
