Conservative online outlet The Washington Free Beacon escaped a copyright suit over its use of a head-shot of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) with articles criticizing her driving, as a judge ruled it’s fair use.
Photographer Jesse Korman created the photo to promote Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, while Free Beacon used it to criticize purported contradictions between her liberal politics and high-end lifestyle, Judge Leonie M. Brinkema of the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia said in an opinion Monday. That transformation of purpose, combined with negligible impact on Korman’s market for the photo, pushed the fair use analysis squarely ...