INSIGHTS

Practice Group Insights

The Supreme Court expressly notes that its ruling in Warhol applied only to the sole allegedly infringing circumstance in which AWF licensed Orange Prince to Conde Nast, however, it may have a broader impact.

Through Warhol, the Supreme Court has clarified for lower courts the analysis of the first factor of the fair use statute, instructing lower courts not to place undue weight on transformativeness or perceived or stated intent when analyzing copyright’s first fair use factor. The Supreme Court held, “Although new expression may be relevant to whether a copying use has a sufficiently distinct purpose or character, it is not, without more, dispositive of the first factor.”