this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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Am I allowed to take a copyrighted image, decrease its size to 1x1 pixels and publish it? What about 2x2?
It's very much not clear when a modification violates copyright because copyright is extremely vague to begin with.
Just because something is defined legally instead of technologically, that doesn't make it vague. The modification violates copyright when the result is a derivative work; no more, no less.
What is a derivative work though? That's again extremely vague and has been subject to countless lawsuits seeking to determine the bounds.
If your work depends on the original, such that it could not exist without it, it's derivative.
I can easily create a pixel of any arbitrary color, so it's sufficiently transformative that it's considered a separate work.
The four fair use tests are pretty reliable in making a determination.