The Court, by a majority of seven out of nine judges, found that Lynn Goldsmith should have been paid because the portrait inspired by her work had a "commercial" use: it was used on the cover of a magazine.

"Goldsmith's original work, like that of other photographers, deserves copyright protection, even against well-known artists," Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote for the majority.

"These protections cover derivative works that transform the original works," except when the former is sufficiently different from the latter, she adds.

However, in the portrait of Prince in question, "Goldsmith and the Warhol Foundation made the same commercial use of his image," she said.

The case at the heart of this judgment originated in 1981. Lynn Goldsmith, a photographer known for having immortalized many rock stars, offers Newsweek to draw the portrait of a musician who begins to break through: Prince. She took several black and white shots of the young man with fine features.

In 1984, the album "Purple Rain" propelled him to the rank of star. Vanity Fair magazine wanted to devote an article to him and asked Andy Warhol to make his portrait in the style of his famous colorful engravings of Marilyn Monroe or Mao.

For $400, Lynn Goldsmith authorized the magazine to use one of her photos for the exclusive use of this article. Entitled "Purple Fame", the text is accompanied by Prince's face, purple skin and jet hair, on a bright orange background.

The story would have ended there if Andy Warhol had not declined this photo in all tones to create a series of 16 portraits of the musician, whom he admired for his talent and androgynous style.

Lynn Goldsmith discovered their existence in 2016 after Prince's death, when Vanity Fair published on its front page an image of the "Minneapolis Kid" taken from his photo but all orange this time.

She then contacted the Andy Warhol Foundation, which has managed the artist's collection since his death in 1987, to claim rights. The latter refused, opening the door to an intense legal battle that has just been resolved.

© 2023 AFP