Earlier this year Shepard Fairey settled his civil case with the Associated Press over the misuse of Mannie Garcia’s photo of Barack Obama as the basis for his ubiquitous Hope poster. While neither side was willing to back down from a legal standpoint, Fairey agreed that in the future he wouldn’t use AP photos in his work without obtaining the proper license. There were also some confidential financial terms set, despite the fact that Fairey claimed that he never personally profited from sales of the image.
Today, calling it the “worst thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Fairey pleaded guilty in the related criminal case, which was opened back in 2009 after he admitted to submitting false images and destroying others during his legal battle with the news organization. Apparently he now faces a maximum sentence of six months in prison, and $250,000 in fines for contempt of court, with his sentencing date set for July 16th. Do you think this means no new posters for Obama’s reelection campaign? [via LAT]