News
Use of copyright protected material to create new (art)work
The Copyright Information Point (CIP) receives many interesting questions that could easily be on an exam about Dutch Copyright Law. In the current and upcoming WUR Library Newsletters, we will highlight some of these because they’re too interesting to keep to ourselves. Today’s question is about the reuse of copyright protected material to create new (art)work.
The question
I would like to use pages of copyright protected books to create decorations for the holiday season. I will use the decorations in public spaces and I also would like to share some pictures of these online on social media. Is this allowed?
The CIP's answer
Yes, this is allowed as long as you take some precautions.
You are allowed to use copyright protected materials to create a new work, as long as the original work has little importance (article 18a of the Dutch Copyright Act). You also need to ensure that the original work is neither recognizable in the new (art)work nor used for commercial purposes. In this specific case, you don't need to cite and refer to the original work.
The goal here was to fold pages of books to create stars. You need to make sure that you choose pages that do not contain the core of the work, for example, the author's conclusion. Alternatively you can ensure that when folding the pages, you partially or fully hide the work's core to make the work incomprehensible. You can hang the stars in a public space, such as a library, or in your lab, and you can even post pictures of them on social media as long as you do not sell the stars or the pictures.
Who is the copyright owner of this new work?
You are the copyright owner of this new (art)work. Note that if you create this new work as a part of your job description, your employer is then the copyright owner.
Contact
If you have any question about copyright law, please feel free to send it to copyright@wur.nl. Don't worry! We will only write about your question with your permission.