Copwright infringement

[thepatriot01082]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? MA
I am a graphite illustrator and want some advice on copywright infringement.I plan on illustrating sports heroes,various sports,to be sold in a well known store.
I want to know if I enlarge some pictures of these stars doing their trademark moves ,crop it,add other elments from other pictures,cropped also;Is this considered a new work of art and is it my copwright?
Is it a derivative work of art?How much does the original image need to change,new picture from combination of others etc,.?
THANKS!!!
P.S.
I need some info as soon as possible
and need to work up a proof to show them in 2 weeks time!!!

 

[quincy]

Fair use of another's copyrighted work is determined at the court level, so you will not really know if your use is fair or not until you are sued over the use by the copyright owner. That is why it is always best to get permission from the copyright owner first before using any copyrighted material, or avoid infringement issues entirely by creating your own work.

For a good review of what is looked at by a court in determining what is fair use of a copyrighted work, you can look at two infringement actions brought against the artist Jeff Koons. In one, the court decided his use of a copyrighted work was a fair use; in the other case, the court decided his use infringed on the original work.

Rogers v Koons, 960 F2d 301 (2d Cir 1992) and Blanch v Koons, 467 F3d 244 (2d Cir 2006).

Your proposed illustrations may run into more legal issues than just copyright infringement, by the way, with your use of images of famous athletes in your work. The names and images of famous people are protected by a right of publicity - you open yourself up to a lawsuit when using their likenesses in your work. Permission should be obtained first.

Using trademarks in your work can lead to a trademark infringement action, as well.

You would be wise to have your illustrations, or your proposed ideas, reviewed by an IP attorney prior to using the likenesses or anything covered by a copyright or trademark. No one here can tell you if your use will be judged a fair use or not.


(as a note: your editing for "misspelling" missed the correction of the spelling of the word "copyright")