Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Virginia

Copyright implications of Selling Images from Books

I am currently investigating a business concept. This involves taking pages from books in print that contain images, framing them and selling them framed. Note that these are not copies of the images they are the actual pages from the books (purchased). Does this violate copyright/IP laws?


Asked on 10/24/04, 8:24 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Re: Copyright implications of Selling Images from Books

The answer requires a little research. While you could sell the book whole, the removal of the picture and sale of the actual page separately would need to be investigated. The issue is whether the "editing" constitutes the creation of a derivative. It is worth hiring an attorney to do this (it should not take more than 1 hour of time to get you a definitive answer). It may sound like a minute detail, but in copyright law, "the devil is in the details." It is this type of minutia that requires careful examination.

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Answered on 10/24/04, 8:46 pm
Michael Stone Law Offices of Michael B. Stone Toll Free 1-855-USE-MIKE

Re: Copyright implications of Selling Images from Books

I disagree with the other attorney who replied that your question requires lots of legal research. The copy of the book is your own and someone, at some point, presumably paid the copyright holder by purchasing the book. So unbundling the product, as it were, in my opinion falls under the "first sale" doctrine and you may lawfully sell the pages.

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Answered on 10/24/04, 9:11 pm


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