It’s like this case is never going to end, although it’s scheduled to do exactly that in October of this year when the Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith case is going to be heard by the US Supreme Court. At least, we hope that’ll be the end. Whatever the outcome, it’ll have a far-reaching impact on how fair use applies in copyright today.

The United States Copyright Office themselves have now weighed in on the case by submitting an amicus brief ahead of the hearing backing up the beliefs of others that the “inspiration” does not fall under fair use and is in fact copyright infringement.

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Back in 2017, the estate of Andy Warhol launched a preemptive strike against photographer Lynn Goldsmith over Warhol’s series based on her photo of Prince. They hoped to prevent any future legal challenges from her, considering that Warhol was “inspired” by her image. However, the U.S. appeals court sided with the photographer on Friday, ruling that Warhol’s Prince series was not transformative and that it could not overcome copyright obligations to Goldsmith.

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