Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
Is it illegal for me to sell a reproduction of the Mona Lisa if it is made out of legos instead of paint and I don't associate the painting's name or the author' name of the original painting with the reproduction (assuming Davinci just died a year ago) during sale?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If da Vinci died last year (which he did not, he died in 1519), he would still own copyrights to the Mona Lisa. If you make a reproduction of a copyrighted work in any medium, adding your own creativity, your work is called a "derivative work." Making a derivative work requires permission or license from the copyright owner. Failure to obtain permission or license from the copyright owner for rights to make a derivative work is copyright infringement.
While the above answers your question, I would like to point out two things: 1) sale of a copy or derivative work is not a necessary element of copyright infringement; and 2) neither the failure to name the original artist nor giving credit to the original artist negates copyright infringement.