Warhol Ruling Decimates Artist’s Fair Use Defense, Court Told

The US Supreme Court’s Andy Warhol copyright ruling in May undercut appropriation artist Jeff Koons’ already-weak fair use defense in a 2021 suit, the plaintiff artist told a New York federal court.

The high court’s de-emphasis of changes to the “purpose and character” of a work added potency to the Second Circuit opinion that artist Michael A. Hayden had already cited, Hayden told the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in a supplemental briefing Friday. Hayden accused Koons of infringing his 1988 sculpture as a part of his “Made in Heaven” exhibit and promotion.

The case ...