Using TV Footage to Create Animations, Copyright Infringement

[almertens]

I want to use an animation technique to isolate and adapt football footage from TV for animation.

Here is a good example of what I mean :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRZMjHzWXQc

I need to know if I would be breaching copyright to do this. I would produce the animation so that the players were not identifiable (they are in the link) and I will only be using 4-5 second clips at a time, none of the original source footage would be seen as 'painted' layers are added over the top of the footage (see link) - if it helps, this layer can be distorted, blurred or significantly altered so that the source is impossible to identify.

If this would infringe copyright, is there anything more I can do to move it within the law?

[Mr. Knowitall]

You remind me of the Shepard Fairey case. Fairey complicated his situation by lying about the source of his inspiration, but I think the legal technicalities that led to his settlement would have been more in his favor than in yours, because you're creating a motion picture that tracks the original video, not just a single image inspired by the video. It seems to me from your description that you would be creating a derivative work.

What are your plans for the work? For example, if you're taking only small clips with no real commercial value, rendering them such that you cannot even tell the players and teams, and presenting them in an educational or non-commercial context, you can probably build a fair use argument.

[flyingron]

I agree with Mr. KIA. This looks very much like a derivative work. Obscuration (or in the case of text, paraphrasing) doesn't diminish the underlying copyright owner's rights.

By the way, I can almost guarantee that if you use team names or logos or any of the player's fame you will have more issues than just copyright to deal with.