In 2019, Judge John G. Koeltl granted the Foundation's motion. He held that Warhol had sufficiently transformed Goldsmith's original photograph under fair use as to show the change of Prince "from a vulnerable, uncomfortable person to an iconic, larger-than-life figure". The Foundation had also argued that Goldsmith's claim was barred by the three-year statute of limitations under the Copyright Act of 1976, but he cited precedent in the Second and other circuits that the statute of limitations for an infringement claim starts when the copyright owner has actual or constructive knowledge of the infringement, not when the allegedly infringing work was created. He also noted that Goldsmith had claimed the infringement occurred with the 2016 licensing to Condé Nast, not Warhol's original creation of the work, rendering her claim timely.Foundation I, at 322, accord
