I designed a shoebox for the Payless ShoeSource Company; they named the shoes Classic Cruisers. As you probably know, Payless Shoes closed its doors for good long ago. Classic Cruisers is also the name of a kids' meal carton series I illustrated for many years. So naturally, the design needed to represent a classic '50s car. The gears in my head began to move. I visualized a simplified illustration of a classic car with the Classic Cruiser's name above it. Days later, during my lunch hour, I thumbed through a magazine and came across an ad that had nothing to do with shoes: a full-color photograph of the rear view of a classic 1957 Chevy Bel Air. Instantly, the lights came on: this could work for the shoebox. Hence the copyright infringement suit was born.

I planned to use the photo for reference. The box design needed to be strong and graphic. To do this, I illustrated the car in pen and ink with bold outlines in a stipple style (ink dots) and printed it in two colors: navy blue and red.

(1) So, the piece in question is no longer a full-color photograph but a simplified two-color rendition.

I wanted the car to have that classic fifties look, but also make it generic to a degree.

(2) So, I altered the position and shape of the taillights and some of the trim to make it less identifiable as a Chevy Bel Air.

I also wanted the car illustration to be uniform on both sides.

(3) So I drew one side and flipped it to draw the other side, slightly altering the shape and perspective.

The final design was the 50s car fins partially over the Classic Cruiser name in a semi-cursive style.

So you can see the many differences between the colored photo in question and my creation.

Can you smell it yet, this so-called copyright infringement suit? You can’t copyright a photograph of a car. Everyone knows that! No more than I could copyright a photo of a toaster; people would copyright all kinds of photos of objects and things, leaving minimal latitude for others to express themselves without being sued. RIGHT?