• Photoshop Disasters: more photo retouching blunders
One of the site’s editors, Xeni Jardin, found the image on the blog Photoshop Disasters and put it on Boing Boing, with the comment "Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis."

Ralph Lauren's lawyers failed to see the funny side, sending a takedown notice to Boing Boing's internet service provider (ISP), Priority Colo.

The ISP refused, after Boing Boing insisted that the post fell under the definition of fair use: "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,' etc."

• Microsoft image alteration race blunder

Online legal advisers Chilling Effects agreed: "Sounds like a pretty solid fair use case... If criticism diminishes [th...

• Photoshop Disasters: more photo retouching blunders
One of the site’s editors, Xeni Jardin, found the image on the blog Photoshop Disasters and put it on Boing Boing, with the comment "Dude, her head's bigger than her pelvis."

Ralph Lauren's lawyers failed to see the funny side, sending a takedown notice to Boing Boing's internet service provider (ISP), Priority Colo.

The ISP refused, after Boing Boing insisted that the post fell under the definition of fair use: "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,' etc."

• Microsoft image alteration race blunder

Online legal advisers Chilling Effects agreed: "Sounds like a pretty solid fair use case... If criticism diminishes [the advertisement's] effectiveness, that's different from the market substitution copyright protects against."

Cory Doctorow, another of Boing Boing's editors, used a blog post to dare Ralph Lauren to "sue and be damned", adding that every time they threaten similar action Boing Boing would:

"A) Reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it, and;

"B) Publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery, so that it becomes highly ranked in search engines where other people you threaten can find it and take heart; and

"C) Offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models."

The Photoshop Disasters blog's ISP, Google Blogspot, also received Ralph Lauren's legal letters, and removed the image.

A spokesman for Ralph Lauren was not available for comment.