Can I used an ASCII generated version of a copyrighted image in my game?
<p>I'm going to guess the likely answer is no, but I'm interested to know more. So let's say I have an image of James Bond from Goldeneye.  </p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Whjg.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/1Whjg.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>Then let's say I run it through ASCII art generator such as this <a href="http://picascii.com/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://picascii.com/</a> and it produces the following ASCII code made for the web as such (can't post here but here is a JSFiddle of the generated code).</p>

<p><a href="https://jsfiddle.net/caimen/ope1j9w0/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://jsfiddle.net/caimen/ope1j9w0/</a> </p>

<p>Why or why would I not be allowed to use this version of a copyrighted image in my game?</p>

<p>The reason is <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/106" rel="nofollow noreferrer">17 USC 106</a>: </p>

<blockquote>
  <p>the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do
  and to authorize any of the following...</p>
  
  <p>(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work</p>
</blockquote>

<p>The original picture is the underlying protected work. The ASCII reproduction is a derivative work. If you get permission to make the derivative work, it is okay. Otherwise, it is copyright infringement. There is an escape clause, <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/questions/7683/in-the-us-when-is-fair-use-a-defense-to-copyright-infringement">"fair use"</a>, which amounts to taking a chance that you won't be sued and then arguing that you didn't do them any prohibited harm. If you make any money off of the game, you have a major strike against you. I suggest reading the <a href="https://law.stackexchange.com/tags/fair-use/info">fair use FAQ</a>; basically, it is really hard to know how a fair use defense will fare, but based on prior cases, I'd say it's infringement, not fair use.</p>

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