GW Law Expert Available to Discuss Supreme Court Case Andy Warhol Foundation v Goldsmith

WASHINGTON (Oct. 11, 2022)— On Wednesday, Oct. 12, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, a long-running case that centers a black-and-white photograph of the singer Prince taken by Lynn Goldsmith, which was later turned into a Newsweek cover by Andy Warhol. Eventually the original magazine cover art was turned into a series of silkscreens that earned millions for the Andy Warhol Foundation, while Goldsmith was only paid the original licensing fee by Newsweek. The outcome of the case could change how courts decide when people can use or profit from the copyrighted work of others without their permission. It has attracted widespread attention among copyright watchers, with numerous friend of the court briefs filed with support for both sides. 

Robert Brauneis is a professor of Law and Co-Director of the Intellectual Property Program at the George Washington University Law School. He is the co-author of a leading casebook on copyright law, and of numerous articles on copyright, trademark, and constitutional law.