Back in August Flickr took down the (in)famous Obama Joker Photo. The reason given was that “In this intance, the Yahoo! Copyright Team here in the US received a complete Notice of Infringement as outlined by the DMCA (Digitial Millenium Copyright Act)”.
However, Photo District News reports that "that they have contacted spokespeople at TIME Magazine, DC Comics, and the photographer who took the original image for Time Magazine, Platon, and all are denying having filed a DMCA takedown notice against this image. Apparently the photographer Platon’s office wasn’t even aware of the Obama/Joker issue."
Here's the photo's creator Firas Alkhateeb's response:
Alkhateeb: I actually don’t know who filed the DMCA notice, but I figured it must be from Time magazine, since it’s their image. All flickr told me was that one was filed, but not by who. I’m in the process of consulting with lawyers now and figuring out my options but so far one guy I talked to at the EFF told me in all likelihood the image is fair use and I shouldn’t have any problems with a long, protracted court case, but well have to see in the coming stages.
"As one would think the only parties with a possible copyright issue are Time, DC Comix, and the photographer, and these three apparently didn't submit a DMCA notice, Flickr either acted on its own to take down a picture it didn't like or management is protecting the identity of the complainant.
Regardless of which is the case, it appears Flickr is engaging in its own form of political censorship by either acting unilaterally or complying with the wishes of a party possessing no legal right to the picture in question."
If you browse through Flickr you can find photos such as this:
And This:
"Why wasn't Flickr or Time concerned with copyright issues involving these parodies?
Not surprisingly, this isn't the first time Flickr came to Barack Obama's defense:
Thomas Hawk blogged about how the site deleted the account of a user named Shepherd Johnson after he made critical comments about Obama in the Official White House Photostream back in June."
Again, Is Flickr protecting itself from a lawsuit by Time, or censoring free speech it doesn't agree with? It wouldn't have anything to do with their liberal baises would it?? (HT NewsBusters, Photo District News, & Thomas Hawk):
Newsbusters: Who Asked Flickr to Take Down Obama Joker Photo?
Newsbusters: Photo Sharing Website Flickr Takes Down Obama Joker Poster
Photo District News: Mystery: Who Asked Flickr To Delete The Obama Joker?
Thomas Hawk: Flickr User Posts Comments Critical of Obama on the Official White House Photostream and Has His Comments Along With His Entire Flickrstream Deleted Without Warning
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