Beware sultry-looking ladies.
That's one of the lessons from the recent court decision
sending a copyright case against the United States Postal Service
to trial, but there are more. The decision can serve as a teaching
tool and warning regarding use of photos and other images.
The case involves two Statues of Liberty — the original in
New York harbor, and the imitation at the New York-New York hotel
in Las Vegas. The imitation looks a lot like the original, but,
according to its sculptor, appears more "fresh-faced" and
"sultry," "more feminine," and "much
pout-ier" than the original.
The Postal Service produced a Statue of Liberty stamp in 2010,
using a photo that appeared to be the head of the original statue.
In fact, the image portrayed the imitation. So the sculptor of the
imitation, Robert S. Davidson, sued for copyright infringement
since his sculpted head was the ultimate basis for the image on the
stamp.
