NY
My husband found some drawn art he wants to use in a logo. It was on a site that said it was free for personal use but not commercial. In a case like that is there a certain amount of altering that makes it different enough that it would be ok to use?
Modifying or altering most rights-protected material will be considered
derivative works - and creating derivatives is one of the exclusive rights held by a copyright owner.
There is the possibility of using a work protected by copyright to create a
transformative work, a work where enough new content has been added to the original work that a new expression or meaning has been created and these additions have created a new understanding of or insight into the original.
Creating a derivative work without the authorization of the copyright holder is infringement. Creating a transformative work can be judged a “fair use.”
Because fair use is a
defense to a copyright infringement lawsuit and not permission to use someone else’s rights-protected material, however, it can be a legal risk to rely on it. If the copyright holder believes a use infringes on his rights, a lawsuit can result.
Your husband would be smart to create his own logo from scratch, hire an artist to create a logo from scratch (and then have all rights held by the artist transferred to him), acquire written consent from the copyright holder to use the clip art in the logo, or have an IP attorney review the logo plans to better determine if the use is likely to be considered a derivative or transformative.