Shepard Fairey was sentenced to two years probation and 300 hours of community service for fabricating documents in his lawsuit against the Associated Press, which rightfully claimed Fairey had used one of their photos for his iconic “Obama Hope” poster. Fairey has since apologized for the incident, claiming it was the “worst mistake of his life.”

The defense prosecution asked for jail time for Fairey, while Fairey’s lawyers argued that his offenses were misdemeanors.

“After spending a great amount of time, energy and legal effort, all of us at The Associated Press are glad this matter is finally behind us,” said Gary Pruitt, the AP’s president and CEO, in a statement. “We hope this case will serve as a clear reminder to all of the importance of fair compensation for those who gather and produce original news content.”

The Associated Press and artist Shepard Fairey have reached a settlement on the “Obama poster” incident. In case you never read anything, the AP said that Fairey infringed on their rights by using an AP picture as the basis for Fairey’s now iconic rendering of Obama. Fairey believed that his use of the image was correct under copyright laws.

Under the settlement, Fairey agreed to never use another AP image in his art without obtaining a proper license, and the AP will now work with Fairey in producing more of the posters. Fairey will also be given the rights to several AP pictures that he will use to create new images. There was also money involved, but that wasn’t disclosed.

Fairey sounds happy to have the case resolved:

I respect the work of photographers, as well as recognize the need to preserve opportunities for other artists to make fair use of photographic images.  I often collaborate with photographers in my work, and I look forward to working with photos provided by the AP’s talented photographers.

So did anyone win here? It sure does seem like Fairey got the better of the deal, especially since he’s going to get more images from the AP. But then the AP also benefits from that, so maybe it’s a win for both sides. Let’s just hope no one Obama-izes themselves anymore, because really, that stopped being funny two days after it started.

WebNewser, PRNewser: Some coverage of mediabistro.com’s user-generated focused conference UGCX today: Peter Shankman, the founder of Help A Reporter Out, spoke about how he plans to expand his company and I Can Haz Cheezburger’s CEO Ben Huh revealed his company’s mission statement: “Make people happy for five minutes a day.”

Associated Press: The Associated Press amended its countersuit against Shepard Fairey after the artist admitted he had lied about which AP photo he used for his iconic Barack Obama HOPE posters.

AdAge: Condé Nast has released a new iPhone app platform for reading its magazines, starting with GQ.

PaidContent: An interview with Huffington Post CEO Eric Hippeau.

FishbowlDC: The Washington Post‘s Marcus Brauchli addressed the Salon controversy in an online chat today.

FishbowlLA: Shepard Fairey, the artist of the iconic Barack Obama posters, has admitted he lied about which Associated Press photo he used for his work.

Gawker: Self laid off a couple staffers last week, including Stephanie Newhouse, a member of the family that built Conde Nast.

Audience Development: Amazon.com has asked magazine publishers to work towards shortening delivery times. Hearst is the first company to agree.

Elle: Blogger Nikki Finke has compiled a Most Powerful Women in Hollywood list for Elle.

Today on the Menu we talk to Jossip.com founder and editorial director David Hauslaib who tells us that while there are plenty of gossip sites out there he doesn’t “see a lot of creative things going on, I see a lot of copycatting.”

Also up for discussion: Why the AP’s potential lawsuit over artist Shepard Fairey‘s Obama HOPE image may be a lose-lose situation for the company. And why celebrity weight-loss (and gain) is a potential win-win for magazines.

You can listen to the podcast live every morning at 9amET on BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321. You can also subscribe to the iTunes feed of the podcast by clicking the “iTunes” button.