Who owns Andy Warhol’s silkscreen print of Prince?

The image shows pages of a petition submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — in an appeal of a previous judgement in their case against photographer Lynn Goldsmith, concerning Warhol's use of Goldsmith's images of the musical artist Prince, which the court will hear oral arguments over on October 12. Photo taken September 22, 2022.

The image shows pages of a petition submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts — in an appeal of a previous judgement in their case against photographer Lynn Goldsmith, concerning Warhol's use of Goldsmith's images of the musical artist Prince, which the court will hear oral arguments over on October 12. Photo taken September 22, 2022. Photo by REUTERS/Jim Bourg.

The Supreme Court today heard a case today about a drawing that Andy Warhol did of Prince in 1984. Warhol died three years later. The drawing was taken from a photograph by Lynn Goldsmith. She’s suing the Warhol Foundation for copyright infringement. At issue is whether Warhol’s work is sufficiently its own and not just a copy of the photo.

Credits

Guest:

  • Paul Szynol - media attorney and professor at the University of Michigan Law School

Host:

Madeleine Brand

Producers:

Sarah Sweeney, Angie Perrin, Michell Eloy, Amy Ta, Brian Hardzinski, Bennett Purser, Marcelle Hutchins, Nihar Patel