Legend has it that Judge Learned Hand wrote this line in a per curiam opinion,
Dellar v. Samuel Goldwyn,
Inc.
1: “[T]he issue of fair use.is the most troublesome in the whole law of copyright….” As recent court decisions reflect, there is turmoil in copyright law, specifically regarding the fair use doctrine in the context of transformative works, but more clarity may be approaching. The Second Circuit’s recent panel holding in the
Warhol v. Goldsmith matter, discussed below, suggests that re-expressing a copyrighted image belonging to another does not entitle the new work to a fair use defense.