Documentary Fair Use After Warhol: The Tenth Circuit Gets It Right

Documentary Fair Use After Warhol: The Tenth Circuit Gets It Right

From The Briefing by Weintraub Tobin by Weintraub Tobin

May 16, 2026

About this episode

This episode discusses the implications of the Tenth Circuit's ruling on fair use for documentary filmmaking.

Did the courts just preserve documentary filmmaking as we know it? In this episode of The Briefing, Weintraub Tobin Partner Scott Hervey and Associate Caroline M. Korpiel revisit the Tiger King fair use dispute and break down the Tenth Circuit’s new opinion in Whyte Monkee Productions v. Netflix. In this episode, they cover: Why the original ruling alarmed documentary filmmakers and copyright experts How the Tenth Circuit reconsidered fair use after Warhol v. Goldsmith What this decision means for documentaries, biographical storytelling, and “biographical anchor” fair use Whether you’re a filmmaker, producer, content creator, or IP professional, this episode offers important insight into the future of fair use in documentary storytelling. Watch this episode on our YouTube or listen to the podcast here.

People in this episode

Host: Scott Hervey

Guest: Caroline M. Korpiel

Topics covered

  • documentary filmmaking
  • fair use
  • copyright law
  • biographical storytelling
  • Tenth Circuit opinion

Keywords

  • fair use
  • documentary
  • copyright
  • Tenth Circuit
  • biographical anchor
  • Tiger King
  • Warhol v. Goldsmith

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Weintraub Tobin

Books & works: Tiger King, Whyte Monkee Productions v. Netflix, Warhol v. Goldsmith

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