Legal Question in Business Law in New York

copyright

If I alter a copyrighted picture of an automoblie, put it on t-shirts and sell them, do I violate copyrght law? As far as I understandand it the original work is copyrighted.


Asked on 5/13/05, 4:10 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

William Frenkel Frenkel Sukhman LLP

Re: copyright

If you alter an existing work, you need to have a license from the copyright owner to create what is called a "derivative work." Failure to secure a license would violate the copyright holder's rights barring a "fair use" defense. Whether you "borrow" or create a wholly new, original work is a question of fact. So, to answer your question, it is important to know the nature of the original work, the extent of your use or borrowing, methods or technologies involved and the nature of the derivative work.

This reply is in the nature of general information, is not legal advice and should not be relied on as such.

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Answered on 5/13/05, 4:29 am
Meyer Silber The Silber Law Firm, LLC

Re: copyright

As posted, its a tough question to answer in this medium. The holder of the copyright owns the derivative works of the picture.

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Answered on 5/13/05, 5:39 am
Stephen Loeb Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb

Re: copyright

Most likely yes, but much depends on your purpose and the function of your design.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can e-mail me for more information about low cost face-to-face, on-line, or a telephone consultations with a lawyer in our office. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

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Answered on 5/13/05, 6:05 am


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