AP image by Mannie Garcia and the Shepard Fairey Hope Poster.

It’s the story that keeps on going in yet another bout of copyright issues, the Associated Press has sued retailers Nordstrom, Zumiez, and Urban Outfitters over sales made of T-shirts of the Obama Hope poster created by Shepard Fairey which used an AP image of President Obama.

While Shepard Fairey and the AP dropped their charges against each other and are now working together on future projects, ironically, it doesn’t mean the retailers are out of the mess. A trial over copyright claims for the apparel is set to begin on March 21.

According to AP spokesman Paul Colford, “When a commercial entity such as these retailers, or the company that sold the shirts to them, gets something for nothing by using an AP photo without credit or compensation, it undermines the AP’s ability to cover the news and devalues the work that our journalists do, often in dangerous locations where they may literally risk life and limb to cover a story.”

Obey Clothing has said that it began manufacturing the T-shirts after Urban Outfitters requested them. Of course, this was before the AP sued Shepard.