The following post is a reflection on the issue of copyright in this story: http://goo.gl/xAaNNy
Unfortunately, I do not believe there to be any aspects of copyright infringement in this case. Offensive? Yes. Out of line? Definitely. Copyright? Unfortunately, no. The reasons behind my findings lie in the rights the company has since they own the image of the little girl subject in the case. Because the mother took her children to a "modeling agent" and signed the images away to the company, the images can be used in whatever way the company chooses since it is a stock image. Thankfully, the billboard was removed due to the content displayed depicting African American mothers as dangerous to their [potential] children due to abortion. Hopefully the images of the little girl will not be used for skewed purposes again, but this is an uncertain issue because the photos are in fact owned by the company in question.
In order to apply this to the classroom setting, I do believe teachers and parents need be careful in allowing others to gain rights to use images (especially of minors) because the intended purpose can be twisted. I believe it is important to note the regulations placed on teachers to avoid such cases such as this being that permission needs to be given to take photos of children by their guardians AND images can only be used for educational purposes (not for personal use). Overall, the above case is more of a moral issue rather than copyright infringement.
Exactly right, and well said. :-)
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