Significance: Peker v. Masters Collection

H.E. Elya Peker, an artist, brought an action for copyright infringement against the Masters Collection.  Masters Collection is a company that produces oil painting replicas of original artwork by adding paint to posters of the original artwork.

Oil Painting Replicas as Copies
The court ruled that:

Masters’ oil painting replicas are unauthorized reproductions of Peker’s artwork because

• 1. Masters access to Peker’s painting is evident by their use of posters of the work.
  2. Masters oil painting replica is sufficiently similar to Peker’s original artwork.  Masters’ copying process enables them to create “convincing copies” of the original painting.
  3. The reproductions are not protected by the first sale doctrine because the first sale doctrine permits someone other than the copyright owner to resell or give away the work, not produce copies of it.