Is it a violation of copyright law to sell a collage made from physically cut out and pasted materials?
<p>I understand that I cannot copy an image, add it to a collage, and sell that collage, as it would violate copyright law. But what about repurposing physical copies? For instance, what if I cut out images, text, etc., from a magazine, and paste them on a board? Would selling this piece trigger copyright law?</p>
<p>As I see it, and perhaps the law sees it quite differently, I have not copied anything, and therefore do not trigger <em><strong>copy</strong></em>rite action. I have simply reused an existing licensed piece in a new piece.</p>

<p><a href="/questions/tagged/united-states" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;united-states&#39;" rel="tag">united-states</a>
The first sale doctrine, (17 U.S.C. § 109), allows one who legitimately purchases a copy of a copyrighted receives the right to sell, display or otherwise dispose of that particular copy, notwithstanding the interests of the copyright owner. However, it does not allow one to change it.</p>
<p>Under US law, doing so would create a derivative work, which would potentially violate copyright, but may indeed fall under the affirmative defense of &quot;fair use&quot; (which is determined on a case-by-case basis). (The rationale is that the first sale doctrine applies to a single article; one who makes a &quot;fair use&quot; derivative work can claim their own copyright, and thus make more copies).</p>
<p>The more &quot;transformative&quot; the derivative work, the better chance it stands of being found fair use. Merely ripping up a work, and reassembling it to form a &quot;mosaic effect&quot; is unlikely to pass muster, for example.</p>
<p>A derivative work that comments on the original work, especially social or political commentary, or on a sentiment strongly associated with the original work, is more likely to be deemed fair use. Painting polka dots the Statue of Liberty is unlikely to do well, whereas putting images of a political or social commentary nature on the Statue of Liberty is (for example, I believe I've seen one such with faces of individuals of a variety of ethnicities superimposed on the statue, making a statement of America (associated with the statue) and its history of immigration and multi-ethnic makeup). (Although the Statue of Liberty is very much not under copyright, for a number of reasons).</p>
<p>Another aspect is how much, and how central a portion, of the original work is used. Using the pedestal the Statue of Liberty stands on would probably be better than the statue its self, for example.</p>

copyright