Warhol v Goldsmith: Supreme Court Upholds that Every Artist Matters, Photographer Goldsmith Protected Warhol Case
Every Artist Matters: The Supreme Court Protects Photographer Goldsmith in the Warhol Litigation
The Supreme Court decided today that the late Andy Warhol infringed upon the rights of photographer Lynn Goldsmith when he used her photograph of music legend Prince to create a silkscreen rendering of the late artist. The Court agreed with Goldsmith that Warhol’s use was not permitted under the copyright doctrine of Fair Use, which allows the use of a copyrighted work without the creator’s permission under certain circumstances.
“Today’s decision ensures the vitality of the Fair Use doctrine while protecting artists, particularly marginalized and developing artists, from the distortion of the doctrine into a tool for the misappropriation of one artist’s work by another artist with greater fame and public recognition,” said Lateef Mtima, Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice. “Elite patrons of the arts often gravitate to the work of famous artists, and in many situations are ignorant of the predecessor works produced by marginalized and lesser-known artists and which have been unfairly misappropriated by artists of renown. The Institute filed an amicus brief in support of photographer Goldsmith to support the proper application of the Fair Use doctrine as a critical tool to promote learning through and creative building upon artistic and literary achievement, while respecting the legitimate ownerships rights and artistic interests of creators in their work.”
The Supreme Court’s decision can be found here.
The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice works to promote social justice in the field of intellectual property law and practice, both domestically and globally. Advocating for core principles of socially equitable access, inclusion, and empowerment throughout the IP ecosystem, IIPSJ’s work ranges broadly and includes scholarly examination of IP law from a social justice perspective; advocacy for social justice cognizance in the shaping and implementation of IP legislation and policy; initiatives to increase the diversity of the IP bar; and programs which promote greater awareness and understanding of IP protection, particularly among historically and currently disadvantaged and underserved groups, to empower them to exploit intellectual property effectively.
Gonzalez v Google: Supreme Court Preserves Section 230, Empowers Marginalized Voices
The Empowerment of Marginalized Voices by Section 230 Preserved by the Supreme Court
Today the Supreme Court declined to disrupt the framework through which Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act promotes access to knowledge and free speech through the Internet. Finding that the plaintiffs’ complaint appears insufficient to provide a basis for their substantive claims, the Court refrained from analyzing the possible application of Section 230’s online platform immunity provisions to such claims.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling in Gonzalez vs. Google implicitly acknowledges the complexity of the issues and interests impacted by Section 230, including the need to preserve venues through which marginalized and vulnerable voices and perspectives can be heard,” said Lateef Mtima, Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice. “The Amicus brief filed by the Scholars of Civil Rights and Social Justice highlighted these concerns, in an effort to aid the Court in understanding the importance of Section 230 in protecting the Internet as a marketplace for diverse and non-traditional ideas, including intellectual property achievement by marginalized creators. The Court’s decision today preserves the status quo achieved by Section 230 in balancing access to knowledge and speech interests with the goal of protecting the public from harmful and malicious conduct on the Internet.”
The Supreme Court’s decision can be found here.
The Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice works to promote social justice in the field of intellectual property law and practice, both domestically and globally. Advocating for core principles of socially equitable access, inclusion, and empowerment throughout the IP ecosystem, IIPSJ’s work ranges broadly and includes scholarly examination of IP law from a social justice perspective; advocacy for social justice cognizance in the shaping and implementation of IP legislation and policy; initiatives to increase the diversity of the IP bar; and programs which promote greater awareness and understanding of IP protection, particularly among historically and currently disadvantaged and underserved groups, to empower them to exploit intellectual property effectively.
Wikimedia Highlights WRKE Fellow Contributions in Inaugural Year Review
Interested in learning about the “Why?” behind the Race and Knowledge Equity Fellowship program? Our partners at Wikimedia published a great piece on the Equity Fund where current IIPSJ fellow, Shreyanka Mirchandani Changaroth also received a special mention and quote:
IIPSJ’s inaugural Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity Fellow is Shreyanka Mirchandani Changaroth, a legal expert who has lived and worked in Singapore, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and is called to the Singapore bar. Shreyanka will lead work with IIPSJ to explore ways to impact IP policy in the US through community engagement. “We can now focus our efforts on tackling grassroots community education around intellectual property, something that goes to the very core of racial equity in the technological society,” said Shreyanka, when describing the new Fellowship.
Read their full article below.
