New case tests fair use in controversial anti-gay political ads
by Barry Werbin
A new copyright infringement action was just filed in Denver by a male gay couple, Brian Edwards and Tom Privitere, whose engagement photo depicting them kissing each other was used w/o permission in anti-gay ads by the "Public Advocate of the United States," an organization characterized by the Southern Poverty Law Center (which is representing the couple and photographer) as a hate group. The photo was posted to a blog by the couple two years ago, but was recently copied and digitally altered to change the background by the defendant organization, which used it a smear ad campaign against Republican former-state Sen. Jean White, who had supported recent legislation to legalize gay civil unions in the state.
Here the original and the modified photos in issue:
Fair use?
Good reading on the case: