Intellectual property lawyer Geoff Gerber will speak about copyright and other issues at 10 a.m. Oct 31 in 218 Fine Arts Building at UMSL. (Photo by Geoff Gerber)

During the 2008 presidential election, a poster image of Barack Obama by artist Shepard Fairey gained iconic status. The problem? The poster was based on a photograph taken by an Associated Press reporter and therefore was copyrighted by the AP. Both sides eventually worked out a financial agreement.

At 10 a.m. Oct 31 intellectual property lawyer Geoff Gerber will speak to photography students at the University of Missouri–St. Louis about copyright, work for hire and other issues that may impinge on the work of photographers and artists. The talk is free and open to the public. It will be held in 218 Fine Arts Building at UMSL.

Gerber is an intellectual property attorney with the Brickhouse Law Group of St. Louis. He regularly represents clients in trade secret and patent litigation but more often focuses on character copyright, fair use and first amendment issues.