Rogers v. Koons, 1992

Rogers v. Koons was a copyright case in the United States dealing with the fair use defence for parody. Please note that the judgment falls under a legal jurisdiction other than the UK.

Jeff Koon made a sculpture based on one of Art Rogers’ photographs. It was for an art show on the banality of everyday items.

After removing the copyright label from a postcard of Art Rogers’ photograph, he gave it to his assistants with instructions on how to model the sculpture. He asked that as much detail be copied as possible, though the puppies were to be made blue, their noses exaggerated, and flowers to be added to the hair of the man and woman.

Roger's original black and white photograph portrays a young woman sitting beside an older man, together holding eight puppies on their laps. The juxtaposed image depicts Koon's creation of a 3D-coloured representation of the original photograph

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The author takes no responsibility for the content of this page, which is not intended as binding legal advice. The views are about copyright in the UK Higher Education sector context.