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From: Deadrat on 24 Dec 2009 10:31
Archimedes Plutonium <plutonium.archimedes(a)gmail.com> wrote in
news:a3926ecf-b922-4968-9242-3a21ab3ac7b1(a)o28g2000yqh.googlegroups.com:

<snip/>

> But I have another legal question on my mind that is slowly curiously
> wanting an answer.
>
> What if I buy a painting from a artist that is signed. And what if I
> altered a portion
> of the painting in which I paint some object leaving the rest of the
> background of
> the signed artist and then I paint over the name of the artist who
> painted the original painting.
>
> Question, would there be some law broken in that act?

Answer, (as usual) it depends.
>
> I am guessing there is some copyright law broken,

Yes, (possibly) United States copyright law or state moral rights laws.

> especially if I thence tried to sell that altered painting.

For copyright purposes, sale doesn't matter.

> I am guessing that by owning-- having bought the painting, does not
> allow me to alter a portion of the painting and then sign my name over
> that of the original artist.

You may have violated copyright law if you have created a derivative work
of art. The wrinkle here is that you've used the original, and not a
copy, but I suppose this is the equivalent of making an identical copy,
alterning it, and destroying the original.

Whether the altered work is a copyright violation depends on a number of
things, including whether the original was under copyright, whether you
have the artist's permission, whether you're engaging in parody, etc.

In addition, there are so-called "moral rights" laws that protect an
artist's interest in preserving his works as they were created.
>
> Anyone in misc.legal have a "uppity up" on the answer?
>
>
> Archimedes Plutonium
> www.iw.net/~a_plutonium
> whole entire Universe is just one big atom
> where dots of the electron-dot-cloud are galaxies

*** I am not a lawyer, so this can't be legal advice. ***

>

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