## Facts

- In 1954, *Look* magazine published a three-part series titled “The Howard Hughes Story,” for which the publisher held copyrights.
- In 1965, Rosemont Enterprises, Inc. was formed by or for Howard Hughes and associates.
- On May 20, 1966, Rosemont acquired the copyrights to the 1954 *Look* articles by assignment.
- Random House published John Keats’s book “Howard Hughes—A Biography” on May 23, 1966.
- The biography used multiple sources and included some quoted and paraphrased material drawn from the *Look* articles, with attribution.
- On May 26, 1966, Rosemont sued for copyright infringement and sought a preliminary injunction to stop sale, distribution, and advertising of the biography pending final judgment.
- Defendants argued the challenged use was insubstantial and, in any event, protected by fair use.

## Issues

1. Whether fair use is categorically unavailable to a commercially published, popular-market biography that uses limited copyrighted material with attribution.
2. Whether, given a colorable fair use defense and the public interest in dissemination, a preliminary injunction barring distribution of an already-published book was proper.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit reversed the order granting a preliminary injunction.
- The court held the district court applied an unduly narrow legal test by limiting fair use largely to criticism/comment or scholarly/scientific/educational works.
- The court held that commercial publication and popular style do not, by themselves, disqualify a work from fair use protection.
- On the record presented, defendants made a sufficient showing that the use could be fair use, making preliminary injunctive relief improper.

## Legal Principles

- Fair use is not confined to academic or “scholarly” works; it can apply to biographies and other works intended for the general public.
- A work’s commercial purpose is relevant but not dispositive; it does not automatically negate fair use.
- The public interest in access to information about public figures supports a broader view of fair use for biographical and report-like works.
- Preliminary injunctions restraining distribution of expressive works should be issued cautiously, particularly where fair use is reasonably arguable and the order functions as a pretrial restraint on dissemination.
- Copyright should not be used primarily as a means to suppress unfavorable biography or commentary rather than to encourage creative production.

## Conclusion

The court vacated a pretrial ban on distributing a Hughes biography, holding that fair use can protect commercially published biographies and that a debatable fair use defense and strong public interest weigh against preliminary injunctive relief.


Rosemont Enters., Inc. v. Random House, Inc., 366 F.2d 303 (2d Cir. 1966)