Name: Paige Barrow Date: 11/15/2023

Copyright Infringement in the News

Name of Article: Supreme Court Rules Against Andy Warhol in copyright dispute over Prince portrait

Link to Article: Andy Warhol Copyright Dispute

Complete APA Citation:

Vogue, A. de. (2023, May 18). Supreme Court rules against Andy Warhol in copyright dispute
over Prince Portrait | CNN politics. CNN.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/05/18/politics/supreme-court-prince-andy-warhol/
index.html

Brief Summary of the Incident: Recently the Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF) went to court for Andy
Warhol’s 1984 Orange Prince series. Copyright infringement was claimed by photographer Lynn
Goldsmith for use of her original photograph of Prince after the AWF licensed the Orange Prince image
to be used in Vanity Fair. The Andy Warhol foundation argued that the piece of art was transformative
so it applied to fair use.

Brief Summary of the Outcome: The Supreme Court ruled against the Andy Warhol Foundation. They
determined in court that the original and recreated pictures were similar and served the same purpose
for commercial use. The argument guiding the cases determined the purpose and character were not
distinctively different. The district court originally sided with the AWF stating the two works had
different meaning and message. However, this was overturned by the Supreme Court because meaning
and message are not enough to apply to fair use. Goldsmith is the licensed owner of the photograph and
can refuse permission to license Andy Warhol’s Prince image at all.

What part of the copyright law was allegedly infringed upon? The AWF claimed fair use under
copyright law that permits unlicensed permissions for copyright works in circumstances that are non-
commercial or educational use.

How could this issue have been avoided?

Previously, Lynn Goldsmith gave permission to use her photograph in 1984 for a one-time use of the
image for Vanity Fair magazine, where she was paid. The Andy Warhol Foundation and Vanity Fair could
have reached back out to Goldsmith to get licensed permission for commercial use and also
compensated her for her copyrighted image.