Using Somebody Else's Photo

Court Case

Cariou v. Prince, 2013 is a copyright case in the United States.

Please note that the judgment falls under a legal jurisdiction other than the UK.

Cariou v. Prince is a copyright case in the United States on whether Richard Prince’s appropriation of art treatment of Patrick Cariou’s photograph was a copyright infringement or fair use.

Prince copied several of Cariou’s original photographs and engaged in various transformations, including printing them, increasing their size, blurring or sharpening, adding content (sometimes in colour), and sometimes compositing multiple photographs together or with other works.

Two versions of the same photo. Both images feature a man standing outdoors in a natural, forest-like setting. The man has long dreadlocks, no shirt, and wears what seems to be a skirt or a similar garment. The photo on the left is in grayscale (black and white); the man stands still and looks towards the camera, with his arms hanging by his sides, and the background is dense with trees and foliage. The photo on the right is still grayscale, but certain elements are edited in colour. The face is now covered with blue paint or a mask, and he is holding a blue electric guitar in his hands. Adding the guitar and the face paint gives this version a much more stylized, artistic feel compared to the original. This comparison highlights a modification to the original image, which seems to involve adding modern elements to a raw or traditional photograph. The image credit points to a website (prwstartuplawyer.com), referencing legal discussions related to artistic copyright or appropriation.
What do you think was the judgement?

Continue to read about this case on Wikipedia.

The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.