Entertainment & IP Litigation

On October 12, 2022, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that will shape the way artists across disciplines create and protect their copyrighted works. The case, Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, involves a 1981 portrait of Prince taken by renowned rock and roll photographer Lynn Goldsmith. In 1984, the late American visual artist, film director, and producer Andy Warhol “transformed” the portrait into a set of 16 silkscreens and sketches, referred to as the “Prince Series.” The Supreme Court will soon decide whether, for the purpose of determining whether an accused work is protected by the Copyright Act’s fair use defense, a work of art that conveys a different meaning or message from its source material is “transformative,” or whether courts can even consider the accused work’s meaning where it recognizably derives from its source material.