Is this copyright infringement?

[Saltlakemom]

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

If I make an abstract portrait of a celebrity from a readily available photograph I assume that is copyright infringement. How do I go about finding out who owns the rights to a photograph and getting permission. And is it worth it? I am not a professional artist, put I do sell some of my paintings to friends and co-workers. Some of work is of celebrities, but in a very colorful, abstract style; however I do use a photo for reference to get facial feature correct, etc. It is definitely not an exact replica. I would not be selling prints, etc. Would this still be considered copyright infringement? Any advice? Should I just stop painting?

 

[quincy]

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

If I make an abstract portrait of a celebrity from a readily available photograph I assume that is copyright infringement. How do I go about finding out who owns the rights to a photograph and getting permission. And is it worth it? I am not a professional artist, put I do sell some of my paintings to friends and co-workers. Some of work is of celebrities, but in a very colorful, abstract style; however I do use a photo for reference to get facial feature correct, etc. It is definitely not an exact replica. I would not be selling prints, etc. Would this still be considered copyright infringement? Any advice? Should I just stop painting?

You can take inspiration from the copyrighted works of others but you cannot copy the work.

There have been numerous copyright infringement suits filed by photographers against artists who have used copyrighted photos without permission from the photographers to do so.

What it appears you are doing with your artwork is creating derivative works. Creating derivatives is one of the exclusive rights held by copyright owners. A derivative work is one based on preexisting material with enough creative and original elements added to make it a new work. A derivative can be created by making a sculpture or a painting of a photograph (or a translation of a literary work into a different language).

For a good look at what a court considers when determining if a new work is a derivative of an existing work (and therefore infringing on a copyright holder's rights) or whether it is transformative (a work that has added new meaning and expression to an existing work and has added value to the original), you can search online for the copyright infringement cases involving appropriation artist Jeff Koons (he has been sued a LOT). The courts in the Koons' cases detail well what is infringement and what can be seen as transformative or a fair use of the copyrighted material.

You can avoid all risk of a lawsuit by contacting the photographers whose photos you want to use and acquire permission to use their photos for your own artwork. Locating a photographer is generally not difficult as most will have their names on the photos. If you cannot find a photographer, you should not use the photograph.

I can post links to cases later.