Copyright, Fair Use, Lawsuits, and Another Supreme Court Decision

Maybe one day we’ll get a clear definition of fair use

Image created by Jacquelyn Lynn using MockupShots

One of the more challenging issues for writers, photographers, and other creatives is the fair use provision of the U.S. Copyright Law.

Essentially, fair use allows you to use someone else’s copyrighted work without permission. But how much of the work and under what circumstances? That question can be hard to answer.

Attorney Kathryn Goldman shared the news of a case that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear.

Photographer Lynn Goldsmith sued the Andy Warhol Foundation for copyright infringement because Warhol used one of Goldsmith’s images of the musician Prince to create a series of silkscreen prints. Goldsmith won.

Goldman summarized the Second Circuit’s decision:

“[j]ust because Warhol is famous, he can’t slap his recognizable style on someone else’s protected work and call it fair use.”

The Warhol Foundation appealed, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case.