It definitely seems as though Gap broke copyright laws in this situation. Two tips from the "tipster" in this article convinced me that this was a copyright violation. First, he noted that this is not a picture of your typical Jaguar. The sketching across the windshield is very unique. Second, he notes that the aforementioned lines on the windshield are "as good as a barcode" in this situation. (I guess that is only one point).
After reading the Copyright materials for this course and reading this article I do believe that Gap broke copyright violations to make money from an image they stole from flickr.
If this were an educational situation, the only thing that might change my mind is the profit being made. If the school/class chose to use this image and were not making a profit on this I would not consider it to be copyright. Or, if the school were making money for a charity rather than for personal gain, I would not consider it to be copyright. (But maybe I would be a super lenient copyright judge).
(2/4)
Yes, the profit is a key point. It would not be a violation in a classroom setting. Again, though, the design firm was in India, so the international connection makes enforcement difficult. I believe Gap did make an undisclosed good will settlement with the photographer.
ReplyDeleteWell thought through.