Alex Christensen thought Washington University could take a joke.

Now, months later, he’s finally resolved the ensuing legal dispute over the right to his Tumblr blog, “Wash U Photo Captions.”

The blog, which mocks photos released by the University’s Office of Public Affairs, was shut down last year.

Christensen, a 2011 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences, announced on Aug. 19 via Tumblr and Twitter that his blog was returning after being shut down for five months.

While the University claims he was violating copyright laws by using its name and photos, Christensen says his blog was protected by the Fair Use doctrine.

“It falls under Fair Use, because it’s a parody, because the theory is that if you had to ask permission of a copyright holder…of course they’d say no,” he said. “With parodying, you’re supposed to take as much as you can and then alter it so the audience takes away some sort of message about the work that you’re parodying.”

Fair Use is the doctrine that protects educators, critics, researchers and commentators from being prosecuted for copyright infringement, but even the U.S. Copyright Office admits that the extent of its applications is unclear.

Christensen says that his blog was able to return because the University didn’t pursue the matter after he disputed the school’s copyright claim.

He says that the blog began as a lighthearted, but pointed, response to the photos he saw the University host on its revamped website last spring.

“Overall, its just a tool to point out the strangeness and absurdity of what Wash. U.’s trying to make their public image be with their website,” he said. “When they rolled out the new site…I thought it was a cool concept, but the pictures they were using were just ridiculous. They were really obviously posed, and they don’t necessarily give the same impression that a student at Wash. U. would have.”

While the issue has been dropped, University officials maintain doubts concerning the blog’s legality.

“[I]t contains a registered trademark (Wash. U.) that the University vigorously protects from unauthorized use in web addresses, particularly by those outside the wustl.edu domain,” wrote Frederick Volkmann, vice chancellor for public affairs, in an email to Student Life. “The site also appears to be using copyrighted photos.”

After the site was removed, Christensen worked with the St. Louis Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts, a free legal service, to file the dispute. He said that the blog should have been put back online in May, but shortcomings in Tumblr’s management made the process take an extra three months.

Despite these difficulties and frustration, Christensen stresses that he maintains fond memories of his alma mater.

“I really enjoyed my four years there and it’s a little fun thing that I ended up doing my senior year,” he said. “I’m also grateful that I went to Wash. U. where I got the skills to, in the end, stand up to Wash. U. It’s kind of strange how that worked out, but the skills that I used were a product of being a student.”

According to sitemeter.com, his blog has received more than 10,000 page views since it began in March.

Visit http://washuphotocaptions.tumblr.com/ to see what the controversy was about.