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Can Instagram Post of Photo Become Transformative?

BY Andrew Denney
May 02, 2017

An enlarged print of an Instagram post containing a copyrighted photo counts as a transformative use, an attorney for “appropriation artist” Richard Prince — whose use of other artists' material in his own works has made him no stranger to the courts — argued before a New York federal judge in April.

At issue in photographer Donald Graham's lawsuit against Richard Prince is a black-and-white photo titled “Rastafarian Smoking a Joint.” Graham v. Prince, 15-cv-10160 (S.D.N.Y.). Graham alleges that he took the photo during a 1996 trip to Jamaica and that it was first published in August 1998. The work was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office on Oct. 20, 2014.

But the registration came after an Instagram user with the username “Indigoochild” posted a slightly cropped version of the photo that was reposted by another user, “Rastajay92,” with the comment “Real Bongo Nyah man a real Congo Nyah,” a reference to a Stephen Marley song.

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