Warhol Ruling Vague About How It Tightens Copyright ‘Fair Use’

The US Supreme Court’s decision against the Andy Warhol Foundation in a dispute over an image of the musician Prince failed to provide guidance on how judges should trim subjectivity when analyzing fair use under copyright law, attorneys said.

The case arose when the foundation licensed a Warhol-colorized version of Lynn Goldsmith’s photo of Prince to Vanity Fair magazine without Goldsmith’s permission. Warhol’s version didn’t qualify as fair use because it didn’t meaningfully transform the photo’s purpose as a portrait of Prince, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in the 7-2 opinion.

The majority reiterated a familiar warning against ...