George W. Bush Used Top Google Results for All Paintings; Who Will Sue for Copyright Infringement?

[NV Whino]

27. Then there's this

Infringement of Copyrighted Photographs
Under U.S. Copyright law, you violate the copyright owner's exclusive rights of copying and/or to create a derivative work by creating a work that is a copy of or "substantially similar" to another's. The courts determine whether the two works are substantially similar by comparing them and evaluating whether copyrightable elements have been used in the second work. A court is much more likely to find an infringement if the subject of the photo has been "set up" by the photographer and contains creative and original elements, compared to a photograph of subjects that already exist, such as in nature or a structure such as the Golden Gate Bridge.

I haven't seen all these paintings (nor do I want to), but I would guess some of the photographs fall under the "set up" category (formal portraits) and some do not (photo journalism or capturing a photo during an event).

But it is all moot, because it will never go to court.