Empower yourself with knowledge.
1) go to a bookstore and buy a law dictionary
2) look up “fair use” in the law dictionary *
3) note the statutes and keywords referenced there
4) go to law library and look up those statutes in the annotated U.S. Code, and your annotated state code. If you do not know how to do this, ask questions. It is easy to do. Law libraries are extremely well organized. Most major state universities have law libraries accessible to the public. Many county courthouses, state supreme courts, and federal courts have law libraries accessible to the public.
5) Read what the statutes say. Read the case law abstracts in the annotated text. Make copies to take home and study, and ponder, and strategize over.
6) look up related cases to get the details concerning facts, findings, and rulings.
7) if you hit paydirt with one or more of those rulings, “shepardize” those cases to make sure they have not been adversely affected by a more recent case.
* In this case, the internet can substitute for a law dictionary. However, I believe such a dictionary is a valuable reference for any home book shelf.
As I said, empower yourself with knowledge. Reject the “lawyer mystique”. Reject it. Other than reducing ignorance and mortal fear, I do not know where such research will lead.
You may just find recent federal case law with facts closely paralleling your case, a finding that “the critique relies on elements of the photo” followed by a ruling that republishing the photo as part of the critique is protected under fair use. You do not know until you look! Do not take the AP’s word for what the law says. They are the enemy. They seek to manipulate you, and your ignorance gives gives them considerable power. I have just revealed how to research this WITHOUT hiring a lawyer. I have just revealed exactly what a lawyer would do if he/she did not already know the answer, and they likely will not tell you the answer without money changing hands, no matter how friendly and comforting, or authoritative they may sound.
And if you do hit paydirt, you can, at your option, throw the ball back in the AP’s court, again, without hiring a lawyer, and see what they do next. Maybe they won’t do anything, seeing that you have the authority to operate your website as you have. If they want to fight, you now have authority you and/or a lawyer can fight back with, again, at your option. Also, if the authority is clear, you may be able to get attorney fees based on a claim that their action is frivolous and groundless. You do not know until you do the research. I have not done the research because I am not in your shoes. So, at this time, I do not know.
They do NOT truely have all the guns. I am not giving you advice. I am revealing some of how the system works, unveling the “lawyer mystique”, so to speak. This process is very well documented and is not hard for the logical mind to grasp.
One other thing, no matter the nature of the fight, if you chose to fight, do not broadcast your knowledge and strategy to the enemy (ex., on the internet – or anywhere else). Silence is power. Use it. Now, that is advice. But it applies to ANY conflict in ANY venue, not just the legal venue. This advice is very broadly, not narrowly offered. That said, the best response to this comment is; “Thank you”. Say nothing more, or nothing at all.
Good Luck.
