The 7-2 ruling, authored by liberal justice Sonia Sotomayor, upheld a lower court’s decision that Warhol’s works based on Goldsmith’s 1981 photo were not immune from her copyright infringement lawsuit.

But the ruling focused on the licensing of only one of Warhol’s Prince images and did not deem the entire silkscreen series a copyright violation.

The film, publishing and recording industries welcomed the ruling. The case was watched closely in the art world and entertainment industry for its implications regarding the legal doctrine called fair use, which promotes freedom of expression by allowing the use of copyright-protected works under certain circumstances without the owner’s permission.

Warhol, who died in 1987, was a foremost participant in the pop art movement that germinated in the 1950s. He created silkscreen print paintings and other works inspired by photos of celebrities including actress Marilyn Monroe, singer Elvis Presley, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, Chinese leader Mao Zedong and boxer Muhammad Ali.

At issue in the Goldsmith litigation was Warhol’s “Orange Prince” series. “Vanity Fair” magazine commissioned Warhol to make a Prince image to be published accompanying a story about the rocker, giving credit to Goldsmith for the source photograph.

Warhol created 14 silkscreens and two pencil illustrations based on the photo Goldsmith took of Prince for “Newsweek” magazine in 1981, most of which were not authorised by the photographer.

Goldsmith, 75, has said she learned of the unauthorised works after Prince’s 2016 death. She countersued the Andy Warhol Foundation in 2017 after it asked a court to find that the works did not violate her copyright.

Goldsmith said she was “thrilled” with the court’s decision, and called it a “great day for photographers and other artists who make a living by licensing their art”.