Copyright Laws on Photo to Art
If you're a professional artist, commanding a working understanding of copyright law is essential. Not only do you need to understand how to protect your works, you must be cognizant of copyright restrictions for your source material. As a general rule of thumb, you can't use another person's photographs as the basis for a painting or another artistic expression without her permission.
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Original Works
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Anytime anyone takes a photograph, U.S. copyright law automatically grants him full copyright protection for that image. Copyright holders own all rights on that image, which limits unauthorized copies, distribution, and derivative works, such as drawings or paintings based upon the work. Artists must receive permission to use a photograph in their art from the photographer -- or whoever holds the rights to the photograph if it's been sold -- to produce an image based on the photograph.
Derivative Works
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No matter how much you alter an original image, you must receive permission from the copyright holder to create a derivative work of her photograph. This includes altering the image digitally, using only portions of the image or combining it with other original images. Unless you took the photograph you're using as source material for your artwork, you must receive permission to use the image.
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Copyright of Derivative Works
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If the owner of the photograph grants you permission to produce a derivative work -- you may be required to license the image for use in your artwork -- you own the copyright to that image unless you negotiated otherwise in your arrangement with the photograph's owner. Your copyright on the derivative work doesn't alter the original copyright holder's rights to the original image.
Public Domain Photographs
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If an image's owner hasn't extended his copyright on an image, it may fall into public domain. For the most part, few photographs are in the public domain. The copyright on all images published before 1923 has expired, putting them into the public domain. Photographs made through the end of 1977 were granted copyright protection for 95 years after publication, and more recent photographs won't enter the public domain until 70 years after the deaths of their photographers.
Penalties
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If a copyright owner discovers that you created a derivative work from her photograph, you may be civilly liable for up to $150,000 for each image infringed upon, and in some cases face criminal charges. Infringing work may also be confiscated by the court.
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