Court will consider whether painting made from photo is lawful

By Carolyn Schurr Levin and Gillian Vernick

Fair use is a term that is thrown around often — and often improperly. Students may say, “I can use that photo because I know the person who posted it,” or “this song was on TikTok so it’s fine to quote the lyrics.” In both of these examples, the students rely (incorrectly) on the woefully misunderstood concept of fair use.

On Oct. 12, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will have a chance to clarify the fair use doctrine when it hears the case of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith. This will be the first time the Supreme Court considers a fair use defense applied to a photograph (although last year the Court decided Google v. Oracle, a fair use dispute concerning computer code).

Continue reading “Legal analysis: Supreme Court takes on fair use”