The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the latest art appropriation dispute likely has artists everywhere concerned that their works may be subject to future litigation. The highest court in the nation has found that the licensing of an Andy Warhol artwork, derived from a photograph taken in 1981 by photographer Lynn Goldsmith, was not
The Ninth Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision in an action seeking recognition of a French money judgment for copyright infringement involving photographs of Pablo Picasso’s artworks. The lower court found that the French money judgment was not enforceable due to fair use. The Ninth Circuit found that various factors weighed against the fair use defense and remanded to the lower court.
Continue Reading Ninth Circuit Reverses Ruling in Copyright Infringement Case Involving Photographs of Picasso’s Artworks
Jeff Koons Defends Copyright Infringement of a Sculptural Work, Claiming “Useful Article” Defense and Fair Use
In 2021, set designer Michael Hayden sued appropriation artist Jeff Koons for copyright infringement arising out of Koons’s use of Hayden’s 1988 sculpture in a 1989 series of artworks titled Made in Heaven. The original sculpture, depicting a serpent wrapped around a rock, was created as a stage prop for adult film star Ilona Staller (former wife of Koons). The infringing works depict Koons and Staller atop the snake sculpture in explicit poses. Hayden claims Koons never asked permission to use the snake sculpture, did not offer to credit him and never applied for a license, and that he was unaware of the claimed infringement until 2019.