Richard Prince has won the latest round of the legal action started by photojournalist Patrick Cariou. In 2008, Cariou sued Richard Prince, Gagosian Gallery and Rizzoli Books for copyright infringement, claiming that Prince’s appropriation of some 40 photographs of Rastafarians from Cariou’s book Yes, Rasta violated the “fair use” doctrine. This was the beginning of a long series of discussions on the terms of appropriation in contemporary art. Three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals rejected Cariou’s motion to dismiss Prince’s right to an appeal. Many observers fear that Court’s decision sets a dangerous precedent for the future of appropriation art, and could cause a creative “chilling effect” more generally.  |
