The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has reportedly agreed to settle a copyright infringement proceeding with Lynn Goldsmith over a photograph of Prince that Goldsmith claimed Andy Warhol used illegally in his “Prince Series”.
The case involved a defence of fair use, with the US Supreme Court ruling that Warhol’s use of the photo in his artwork did not constitute fair use.
Although Vanity Fair licensed the photo from Goldsmith for a one-time use by Warhol in 1984, Warhol went on to use the photo in his series without giving payment or credit to Goldsmith. Vanity Fair also reused the photo in its 2016 tribute to Prince, leading Goldsmith to launch her suit.
The two parties reportedly settled for just over $21,000, which includes costs and licensing fees for Vanity Fair’s 2016 use. Goldsmith’s claims regarding the original use of her photograph will not advance due to an expired statute of limitations. Additionally, the Warhol Foundation reportedly dropped its countersuit claiming fair use.
Authors: Kasia Donovan and Noa Rapaport
Authors
Expertise
Insights
-
Intellectual Property Litigation
"Worldle" Faces a Wordle Hurdle
Kory McDonald, the creator of “Worldle”, a geography-themed game, is advocating on behalf of all games ending in “-le”. Worldle shows a series of Google Street view images from which players… -
Intellectual Property Litigation
Not a “Success Kid”
Steve King, the former Iowa Republican Congressman, has reportedly lost his appeal attempting to overturn a copyright verdict for using the “Success Kid” meme in his 2020 campaign. The “Success… -
Intellectual Property Litigation
Alaska Airlines Not Soaring After Losing Appeal
Alaska Airlines (“Alaska”) recently lost an appeal over a trademark licensing agreement at the Court of Appeal in London, in a decision favoring Virgin Group. Alaska was ordered to pay approximately… -
Intellectual Property Litigation
X’s Lawsuit Regarding Data Scraping Dismissed
A federal judge in California reportedly dismissed a lawsuit for breach-of-contract and tort claims brought by Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, against Bright Data, in a case involving data… -
Intellectual Property Litigation
Bacardí Toasts to a Successful Appeal
There has been a new development in a long-standing trademark dispute between Bacardí and the Cuban government entity, Cubaexport, over the "Havana Club" name. Bacardí won its appeal at the US… -
Intellectual Property Litigation
Warhol: Landmark Copyright Case Settles
The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has reportedly agreed to settle a copyright infringement proceeding with Lynn Goldsmith over a photograph of Prince that Goldsmith claimed Andy Warhol…