The Supreme Court’s decision in Andy Warhol Foundation v. Goldsmith was a breath of fresh air that provided much needed guidance on the issue of fair use. Moreover, it reigned in the overbroad standard of “transformativeness” that had plagued court decisions for years. Never has this been more apparent than a recent Appellate Case reversing a finding of fair use. What was notable was that the case is virtually identical, as to the facts, as to the type of work copied, as to the type of use by the Defendant, brought by the exact same Plaintiff, that six years earlier had been found to be fair use. Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., examines the cases and explains why the Warhol decision is indeed a game changer in the realm of Fair Use.
