Appropriation in art is the use of pre-existing objects or images with little or no transformation applied to them. The use of appropriation has played a significant role in the history of the arts (literary, visual, musical and performing arts).

A pair of copyright decisions issued in May, one involving the appropriation artist Richard Prince[1] and the other involving works portraying the musician known as Prince, explore and expand on the “fair use” defense to copyright infringement. On May 11, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of

Continue Reading Fair Use: Graham v. Prince and Warhol v. Goldsmith

We recently reported on the Warhol Foundation’s petition to the United States Supreme Court to review the Second Circuit’s decision in Andy Warhol Found. for Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, 11 F.4th 26 (2d Cir. 2021).  On March 28, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari, which means the Court
Continue Reading SCOTUS Update: U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Warhol v. Goldsmith Copyright Case Next Term

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Appropriation artist Richard Prince’s Motion to Dismiss is now fully briefed in Graham v. Prince et al., teeing up for Judge Stein of the Southern District of New York key questions regarding the scope of the fair use defense in the context of contemporary art…
Continue Reading Fair Use Filter? Richard Prince Moves to Dismiss Donald Graham’s Lawsuit