Art Copyright Laws

Most people who have taken an art class have had their instructor inform them that all art is copyrighted the artist. However, if you want to use someone else’s art, you have to change it X number of times before it was “yours”. (I’ve heard this number be anywhere from 3 to 8 to 2/3rds of the entire work has to be changed.)

However, I’ve now heard that this is incorrect and even if you change someone else’s art, you’re still infringing upon their copyright. Does anyone know for sure what the deal is?

Thank you,

The only fair answer is “it depends.”

If I were to publish a poem of 16 lines that begins:

…and that is the sole change from a fairly well-known piece entitled “Stopping by Woods…”, I can expect a plagiarism lawsuit from the estate of Robert Frost rather rapidly.

On the other hand, using an image created by someone else with changes to say something entirely different has that aspect of “new creation” necessary for separate copyright.

This is complicated by laws regarding pastiches and parodies. We’ve all, I think, seen that picture of Lisa della Giaconda holding a marijuana joint that amply explains her facial expression, the humor of which lies totally in its being a near-exact copy of the Mona Lisa except for the hand holding the joint. If the Mona Lisa were still under copyright, that would not be a violation, because the point to it is in the identity-with-change parody nature of the “Stona Lisa.”

And one cannot copyright ideas – just what is done with them. The rather famous coincidence of Charles Sheffield and Arthur C. Clarke bringing out simultaneous novels founded in the Beanstalk concept, but doing quite different things with the story, amply explains this.

What is the “Beanstalk Concept” and what novels are you referring to? Thanks.

“Beanstalk” was the concept of a giant tower leading from Earth into space.

There is no set number of times or changes before you can claim a new work. The artist would have to sue you, and you’d have to see how the court rules, and there are many factors involved. (And how do you quantify a change in a piece of art? If you change the eyes from blue to green, is it two changes? If you repaint the image so the woman is now nude, is that a change? How many?)

It would be up to a judge to make a final determination.