Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith (Copyright Fair Use)

Send us Fan MailIn Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith et al., the Supreme Court ruled that the commercial licensing of a derivative artwork by Andy Warhol, based on a copyrighted photograph taken by Lynn Goldsmith, did not qualify as fair use. The case involved the licensing of Warhol's "Orange Prince" image. This well-known image includes a silkscreen portrait of musician Prince, which was derived from Goldsmith's photograph. The Court found that despite adding new expression, meaning, or message to the photograph, the purpose and character of the use were not sufficiently distinct from the original work. Held: the “purpose and character” of the Warhol' use of Goldsmith’s original photograph in commercially licensing Orange Prince to Condé Nast does not favor Warhol's fair use defense to copyright infringement. Justice Sotomayor delivered the Opinion of the Court. Justice Kagan filed a dissenting Opinion, which Chief Justice Roberts joined.  Read by guest host Jeff Barnum. Support the show