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. GoldsmithWe 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
In a controversial decision in March 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that a 1984 series of silkscreen paintings by the pop artist Andy Warhol depicting the musical legend Prince (the “Prince Series”)—based on a 1981 photograph of Prince by Lynn Goldsmith (the “Prince
Continue Reading Prince, Prince, Prints: Will the Supreme Court Revisit Fair Use?
On April 2, 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled in favor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art when it held in a summary order that the Met’s use of a 1982 photograph of famed guitarist Eddie Van Halen (the “Photograph”) in an online catalogue
Continue Reading You Really Got Me: Second Circuit Rules in Favor of Met Museum in Fair Use Case Involving Photograph of Van Halen
On December 27, 2020, as part of the omnibus spending and COVID-19 relief bill (the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021), President Trump signed into law the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020 (the CASE Act of 2020), which establishes a small-claims tribunal within the U.S. Copyright Office to adjudicate
Continue Reading COVID-19 Relief Legislation Includes the CASE Act of 2020, Establishing a Small-Claims Tribunal Within the U.S. Copyright Office
On November 2, 2020, Judge Allyne Ross of the Eastern District of New York dismissed copyright claims brought by Danish photographer Michael Barrett Boesen against a sports website for its use of an Instagram post by former top-ranked tennis star Caroline Wozniacki that itself used a photograph by Boesen.[1]
Continue Reading Defendant Prevails on “Fair Use” of Embedded Instagram Post
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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