This post was written by Hilary St. Jean and Brad R. Newberg.

In April, 2013 the 2nd Circuit concluded that certain works of the well-known appropriation artist, Richard Prince, which used Patrick Cariou’s photographs in a series of collages, constituted fair use. In Kienitz v. Sconnie Nation LLC, U.S. Circuit Judge Frank Easterbrook joins in on criticism that courts, such as in the Cariou case, are placing too much emphasis on the transformative use factor in considering fair use. However, Law360 (subscription required) quotes Reed Smith’s Brad Newberg who zeroes in on a deeper danger for authors’ derivative rights: “The issue with Cariou is not that it gives great weight to a transformative use, but how it defines transformative use.”