Sued Over Use of Michelangelo Statue

Armalite used a photoshopped image of Michelangelo’s “David” in a “tongue-in-cheek” ad recently and earned the wrath of Italy, who apparently think they still own it. But I think the copyright on that image ran out a long time ago. In any case, I think Italy “protests way too much.” Such use of this famous image can only help the Italian vacation and travel industry as people who have never seen this statue travel there to see it. I’ve seen it many times. But I suspect there are many people who have not. I can even remember another ad using it, without showing it’s frontal nudity (they showed it from the back) with a bunch of people (principally women) studying it closely with amused facial expressions. (Bearing Arms)