Unauthorized derivative works can significantly harm original artists' businesses by infringing upon their intellectual property rights, diluting their brand, and impacting potential revenue streams. For instance, in the case of Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. v. Goldsmith, photographer Lynn Goldsmith's original photographs were used without her permission, leading to legal disputes over copyright infringement and fair use.
Similarly, artist Richard Prince faced legal action for his "New Portraits" exhibit, which consisted of unaltered Instagram users' pictures with his commentary added beneath. Despite the lack of authorization, Prince argued that his additions constituted fair use. However, in 2024, Richard Prince and the galleries were ordered to pay $900,000 to the photographers, highlighting the potential financial harm unauthorized derivative works can cause to original creators.
These cases underscore how unauthorized derivatives can infringe upon artists' rights, leading to legal disputes and financial losses, thereby harming their business interests.
Similarly, thousands of artists recently signed an open letter urging Christie's to cancel an auction featuring AI-generated artworks. These artists argue that the AI programs used to create these pieces incorporate copyrighted materials without permission, exploiting their creativity and leading to unfair financial gain for the companies involved. Ed Newton-Rex, CEO of Fairly Trained, criticized Christie's for promoting these models, stating they impoverish original artists. Thousands of artists worry about derivatives because they know the real impact this has on our business. Dilution of an artist's style kills their business and every artist that has had this happen to them knows this and fights against this. To my knowledge I do not believe the derivative issue of my work was ever addressed and I indeed know as fact to this day I still do not know who the creator of my boston terrier derivative is and my attorney was asked about this repeatedly. I was never given an answer.
