Recreating a photographer's image has nothing to do with copyright
laws. IT does not violate copyright law. Just bad form and a lack of
creativity, perhaps. The law does not apply.
If it's *independent* creating, then the law doesn't apply. But if he
deliberately creates a photo just like yours, it does. This is
getting into a fairly obscure corner of copyright law, so I'm not
surprised you don't know it, but I wish you'd be a little less certain
with your misinformation.
Two cases come to MY mind. One, a French photographer won in a legal battle
over his Diptyk photograph of a chair on the Promonade in Cannes, France.
The copy showed the same picture, albiet moving, with a guy in a chair and
the volume from (I think it was) a Bose speaker system blew him off the
chair. The Ad agency spokesman admitted they 'got the idea' from this 'Art'
photograph, and thereby lost the suit.
Second was Bernheart's suit against the movie company who made the poster
for BOXING HELENA based on her view of a 'Nude In Box.' Long argument and
they finally proved the commercial idea came from Bernheart's aclaimed
retrospective book.
A third, also [I believe] a Bernheardt (note uncertainty in spelling, and
her book is just behind me on a shelf. Oh well.) The photograph on the
cover of the photo collection "The Body" was copied for the poster of the
movie THE SHOWGIRL; and the original artist won that suit, too.
There you are, Bob.
Steve Shapiro
