Dis Claimer

There was a problem with the Vivian Maier photo I posted yesterday. I had no right to reproduce it. According to the FAQ on vivanmaier.com, which is where I found the image,

All photographs appearing on this website and in the archive of the Maloof Collection are copyrighted and protected under United States and international copyright laws. The photographs may not be reproduced in any form, stored or manipulated without prior written permission from the Maloof Collection.

So John Maloof owns that photograph along with most of Vivian Maier's work. I want to take a moment now to give proper credit. That is John Maloof's photograph. He took it, at least in a manner of speaking. I did not get prior permission to post it. I broke copyright laws. But I don't really give a shit and here's why:

1. I backlinked to Maloof's site, giving him credit for the photo.

2. I used the photo to make a secondary point, possibly an academic one, and probably a very academic one, which exempts the post from copyright law under Fair Use doctrine.

3. I did not represent the photo as my own work. It is clearly labeled as Vivia— I mean, John Maloof's photograph.

I think I've taken proper steps to cover myself. After all, it's not as if I just found an old photo in storage, attached my name to it, claimed all rights, and sold limited editions of that photo for thousands of dollars. I could see how that might raise questions. But I'm not doing that so I should be covered. 

But if someone wants to sue me anyway, go for it.