The issue of fair use is front and center as the Associated Press, a street artist and a freelance photographer are locked in a legal battle over a poster of President Barack Obama.

One of the most famous images of the president during his campaign for the White House was a photograph taken by freelance photographer Mannie Garcia while on assignment for the AP at the National Press Club in 2006 that was painted over by Los Angeles-based street artist Shepard Fairey.

Fairey highlighted the photo with paint and added an Obama campaign logo, along with the oft-repeated one-word slogan of his campaign, "Hope."

The image has been co-opted by many for use on thousands of posters and stickers, and copies signed by Fairey have fetched thousands of dollars on eBay.

Fairey also used the photo taken by Garcia for an image designed for Obama's inaugural committee. According to an AP story on the mater, the committee charged $100 per poster and $500 for one signed by Fairey.

But the Associated Press is not happy about the poster because it says it owns the copyright to the picture and Fairey should not have used it without permission. The newsgathering organization was in negotiations with Fairey to use proceeds from sales of the image to the Emergency Relief Fund, a charitable fund that supports "AP journalists around the world who suffer personal loss from natural disasters and conflicts."

But Fairey is now suing the AP, saying the photo falls under the fair use concept, where exceptions to copyright laws can be granted under certain circumstances regarding how the original work is used, what the new work is used for and how the original is affected by the new work.

The AP issued a statement that it was blindsided by the filing. AP spokesman Paul Colford said the AP and Fairey's attorney agreed no legal action would be pursued by either party while discussions were ongoing.

"Fairey's attorney avoided contact, nor did he respond to an invitation to make contact... .Instead he chose to file [Feb. 9], without notice to AP," Colford said in a statement.

Jennifer Gross, a public relations representative for Fairey told All Headline News that he was no longer granting interviews and would not comment on the case because he is "just burned out."

To make matters worse, Garcia is now saying he owns the rights to the photograph, but is pleased with how it was used. He too would not comment to AHN. When a reporter tried to contact Garcia by e-mail, a man named Scott Miller, who identified himself as a friend of more than 20 years, returned the correspondence saying:

"He is being hammered from all sides on this. Unfortunately, at this time, he is not doing any interviews about the photo because of the legal issues that are going on."