Warhol Foundation Settles Landmark Copyright Case for $21,000

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts will pay photographer Lynn Goldsmith roughly $21,000 to settle a fair-use copyright case in which Goldsmith emerged victorious last year. The case addressedthe questionof whether Warhol’s use in his own work of a photo of the musician Prince by Goldsmith constituted fair use: The US Supreme Court, in a 7–2 ruling, determined thatit did not.

The case focused on Goldsmith’s allegation that the late Pop artist illegally used her 1981 photo of His Royal Badness in his 1984 “Prince Series,” a group of screen prints featuring the rock icon’s face. Warhol created the series while on assignment forVanity Fair, whose parent company, Conde Nast, licensed the photo from Goldsmith for onetime use, paying her $400. The magazine published a single work from the series,Purple Fame, crediting Goldsmith. According to the photographer, Warhol failed to seek her permission to use the photo for the entire series and offered her neither credit nor compensation. She launched her suit afterVanity Fair,in the wake of Prince’s untimely 2016 death, ran a different work from the series,Orange Prince, in a commemorative issue, paying the Warhol Foundation $10,000 and leaving Goldsmith out in the cold in terms of both cash and (photo) credit. The Warhol Foundation countersued, claiming fair use.

Goldsmith’s suit drew broad scrutiny, as it was expected to have far-reaching ramifications for artists whose work centers appropriation. The Supreme Court handed down its decision just days after a court ruled that two suits against renowned appropriation artist Richard Prince could proceed. Those cases focus on Prince’s unauthorized use of Instagram photos, and likewise hinge on issues of transformation and fair use.

According to a joint filing between the foundation and Goldsmith, the money includes $11,272.94 in “taxable costs” and  $10,250 in licensing fees. The money awarded in remuneration for the latter covers Vanity Fair’s 2016 use of Goldsmith’s image. The photographer declined to advance claims for relief regarding the entire “Prince Series” on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired. The Warhol Foundation has dropped its countersuit, and each party is expected to pay its own legal fees in the matter.