CREATING REPLICA FROM POSTER DOES NOT FLY!

            The "First Sale" doctrine in copyright permits the lawful purchaser of copyrighted property to re-sell the original property without infringing the creator's copyright. For example, if a photographer creates and then sells posters of a copyrighted image, each individual poster can be resold again and again without any additional compensation to, or the consent of, the photographer copyright owner. The rationale for this doctrine is that once the copyright owner places a copyrighted item into commerce by selling it, such owner has exhausted his exclusive statutory right to control its distribution.

            However, this doctrine does not apply to alterations in the poster which is then sold as a different piece. A recent decision in the Eastern District Court of New York, Peker v. Masters Collection, has highlighted this prohibition.

            In that case the defendant used a poster of one of the artist's paintings to create an oil painting replica. The Court rejected the "First Sale" doctrine defense saying in no uncertain terms that, although it gave the defendant the right to re-sell the poster, it "does not sanctify...[defendant's] transmogrification of that poster by adding paint into what [defendant] describes as a 'virtually indistinguishable' copy of the 'original oil painting'."

            The Court granted summary judgement on the issue of liability and referred the issue of damages to a magistrate judge, so we do not yet know the extent of any monetary award.

            The Court also suggested that plaintiffs, who were represting themselves, "may wish to obtain their own experienced counsel for the balance of their litigation," or, in layman's terms [perhaps], don't push your luck!!