I love painting and art in general. In a book I saw a picture I really loved and attempted to replicate it using a different medium. It turned out pretty good and my friend suggested I sell it. My question is, is this violating any copyright laws or anything if I did sell it? Thanks for any input in advance!
What a brilliant question! You are using the picture in the book for inspiration exactly the same way that the original artist chose their subject as inspiration - do they own the copyright to the subject of their art? The answer is probably not. You're creating an interpretation by hand instead of using some electronic/photographic reproduction technique - that makes a big difference. I'm sure it's okay to do this. To be on the safe side I would include a little acknowledgement to the original artist.
This is indeed an interesting question. I think it could possibly fall under creating a derivative work. Since you are doing it in a totally different medium however it could fall under fair use especially if your work isn't trying to duplicate the original exactly.
Yes, that would save a lot of problems. Let's be honest - if it's some old watercolour or oil painting in a book the original artist is probably long dead and the copyright expired anyway!
My own creation. The author is not dead by the way What concerns me is it is not a picture of a realistic object such as flowers. It's a picture of a sort of dragon. The medium I used is watercolor and he used oil. So even though I attempted to replicate it, the differences are pretty obvious and it's not EXACT as would be expected. I scanned my picture and the original: My picture: Original:
Copyright Act: (Provision 107) §107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair Use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include - 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2 . the nature of the copyrighted work; 3 . the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; 4 . the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
Cool can you knock me off a few copies of the Guernica I have the feeling that the artist will probably be flattered that someone is inspired by their work. How many copies of paintings have you seen for sale on market stalls set outside museums? Many of which are water colours or oil paintings.