Andy Warhol Foundation Requests Argument Time in Cariou v. Prince

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has filed a motion with the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit requesting that the court allow it ten minutes of oral argument as amicus curiae in the case of Cariou v. Prince.  The Warhol Foundation previously filed an opening brief and a reply brief, in this case urging that the court reverse a lower court’s ruling that thirty paintings by the artist Richard Prince infringe copyrights in photographs owned by Patrick Cariou.

Michael Straus, the Warhol Foundation’s Chair, said: “In its roles as a major supporter of new contemporary art and as the owner of valuable copyrights in existing works, the Warhol Foundation has a unique perspective on the balance between the need to provide strong copyright protection and the need to protect the right to create new art.  We believe the Court will benefit from our experience with these issues and that our input will assist the Court in setting guidelines that will promote rather than undermine creativity in the arts.”

The Foundation is being represented by attorneys from Stanford Law School’s Fair Use Project, New York City attorney Virginia Rutledge, and Bingham McCutchen LLP.