Illustration for coloring book, based on existing property - permission needed?

[artbydd]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Hi everyone,

I am an artist in the midst of creating an adult coloring book themed around Celtic mythology, using characters from the various legends of the associated countries - all public domain, so no issues there.

There are many contemporary works of fiction that are based on and inspired by said myths, and it was reading these books as a child that sparked my interest in them - Cooper's Dark is Rising series, Alexander's Prydain series, and L'Engle's A Swiftly Tilting Planet, to name a few. I would love to include a scene or a few characters from works such as these - perhaps one or two pages each out of a book of 50 images or so, along with a brief synopsis of the work and how it relates to the mythologies - both to add variety to the artwork and to promote these excellent books. The illustrations would be my own, without reference to previously published scenes from any of the works.

I hope to self-publish the coloring book via amazon and various other online and/or brick-and-mortar venues.

What are the legal requirements for images based upon (not copied from) copyrighted work? Should I ask permission of the copyright holder/publisher, or would work of this type fall under fair use? This seems like a gray area; I have had artwork I did for a series of blog articles on the Chronicles of Narnia published (by someone else) as part of a devotional/scholarly book, apparently without issue, but I'm not sure this is in the same category.

Thanks for any help on this!

ETA: Ha! Wait, I just realized there's already been a thread on this. https://forum.freeadvice.com/sports-arts-entertainment-law-86/adult-coloring-book-w-original-drawings-book-characters-living-author-618941.html

Never mind - unless anyone can tell me if what I want to do is significantly different since what I would want to do would constitute only a small percentage of the work.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

Hi everyone,

I am an artist in the midst of creating an adult coloring book themed around Celtic mythology, using characters from the various legends of the associated countries - all public domain, so no issues there.

There are many contemporary works of fiction that are based on and inspired by said myths, and it was reading these books as a child that sparked my interest in them - Cooper's Dark is Rising series, Alexander's Prydain series, and L'Engle's A Swiftly Tilting Planet, to name a few. I would love to include a scene or a few characters from works such as these - perhaps one or two pages each out of a book of 50 images or so, along with a brief synopsis of the work and how it relates to the mythologies - both to add variety to the artwork and to promote these excellent books. The illustrations would be my own, without reference to previously published scenes from any of the works.

I hope to self-publish the coloring book via amazon and various other online and/or brick-and-mortar venues.

What are the legal requirements for images based upon (not copied from) copyrighted work? Should I ask permission of the copyright holder/publisher, or would work of this type fall under fair use? This seems like a gray area; I have had artwork I did for a series of blog articles on the Chronicles of Narnia published (by someone else) as part of a devotional/scholarly book, apparently without issue, but I'm not sure this is in the same category.

Thanks for any help on this!

Although taking inspiration from the copyrighted works of others is not in and of itself infringing, using the expressions of these copyrighted works as the basis for your own works could be. What you need to avoid in your drawings any substantial similarity to the original works.

Whether one work has similarity enough to another work to be infringing depends on many factors, the most important factor perhaps being the belief of the original copyright holder. If the original copyright holder sees infringement, a lawsuit can result and it will be left for a court to decide.

Your goal should be to avoid a lawsuit. The best way to do this is to acquire permissions, whether permission is legally required or not. Fair use is not permission to use copyrighted works but an affirmative defense to an infringement lawsuit (a "yes I infringed but it is okay in this case" defense).

You face greater risk of a lawsuit because of your intended use of the copyrighted drawings (or those that are similar) and a risk in mention of sources. Not everyone wants to be connected to adult material. You have reputations to consider as well as IP issues.

Edit to add: I just saw your edit. I haven't reread the other thread yet but I will assume it says what I have said here.

 

[justalayman]

The other thread presents a very different situation and in no way supports artbydd in his efforts described. In the other thread the op was intending on securing permission to use the works of another

Artbydd also needs to realize the amount of material used alone has very little relevance to the use being covered under fair use. In fact what artbydd has described doesn't sound as if it would be covered under fair use anyway.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Although taking inspiration from the copyrighted works of others is not in and of itself infringing, using the expressions of these copyrighted works as the basis for your own works could be. What you need to avoid in your drawings any substantial similarity to the original works.

Whether one work has similarity enough to another work to be infringing depends on many factors, the most important factor perhaps being the belief of the original copyright holder. If the original copyright holder sees infringement, a lawsuit can result and it will be left for a court to decide.

Your goal should be to avoid a lawsuit. The best way to do this is to acquire permissions, whether permission is legally required or not. Fair use is not permission to use copyrighted works but an affirmative defense to an infringement lawsuit (a "yes I infringed but it is okay in this case" defense).

You face greater risk of a lawsuit because of your intended use of the copyrighted drawings (or those that are similar) and a risk in mention of sources. Not everyone wants to be connected to adult material. You have reputations to consider as well as IP issues.

Edit to add: I just saw your edit. I haven't reread the other thread yet but I will assume it says what I have said here.

My understanding is that OP is intended using descriptive prose for inspiration, not drawings.

I also suspect that the ability to get permission might be easier if by "adult" one means "more sophisticated" drawings. If one is planning an drawings with "adult" content, that would understandably be... more delicate.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

... I am an artist in the midst of creating an adult coloring book ...

... I would love to include a scene or a few characters from works such as these - perhaps one or two pages each out of a book of 50 images or so, along with a brief synopsis of the work and how it relates to the mythologies - both to add variety to the artwork and to promote these excellent books. The illustrations would be my own, without reference to previously published scenes from any of the works ...

... What are the legal requirements for images based upon (not copied from) copyrighted work? Should I ask permission of the copyright holder/publisher, or would work of this type fall under fair use? ...

Whenever anyone uses the term "adult," it generally means it is not appropriate for children. A coloring book on Celtic mythology is not adult material in and of itself. It is how the material is handled that would make it an adult coloring book.

artbydd speaks of taking "one or two pages out of a book of 50 images" and using them to add variety. Although he says his use would be to "promote" the books, his intended promotion is problematic as is his intended use of material from the copyrighted texts.

He requires permission from the copyright holders if he does not want to risk his coloring book spawning lawsuits.