Are Artists Being Sued Into Submission?

Apparently so.

This concerns the artist, Andy Baio, who was sued by a while back for copyright infringement. If you need a quick refresher, Baio had a friend create a pixel-art version of Jay Maisel‘s famous cover photo of Miles Davis. Maisel sued Baio for $100,000, but they ended up settling for $32,500. Not bad (I guess depending on who you ask).

Baio certainly has a right to express his views on copyright and creativeity, but my main critique of his presentation is that he perpetuates the conflation between physical/actual appropriation and inspiration. Big difference.

PetaPixel has more on this story, and a video of Baio giving a talk for Creative Mornings in Portland.

Tags: art, baio, Copyright, cover photo, fair use, law, maisel, miles davis, photography