In case you are not familiar with the rules they can be obtained from the US Copyright Office.  Ask for Circular 14, “Copyrighted Registration for Derivative Works”.

Briefly, the rules are:

Collage is considered a Derivative Work.  This means that collage is made up of elements from other sources or other work.

Derivative work can only include copyrighted material if it is created by the owner of the copyright on the original material OR if it is used with the permission of the person who owns the copyright.  So if you would like to use a fragment of a photo from National Geographic you must get the permission of the photographer to use it. Likewise materials from published advertisements where photographic material is used.  ALSO, words and text found in printed material.

An unauthorized derivative work is illegal from the moment you create it!

It does not matter if you plan to keep the art work or sell it or give it away or donate it to charity.

The law is very vague on ”de minimus”, or how much of a copyrighted work can be used safely.  There is no clear definition of how much is too much in terms of total square inches or words.  Even a tiny amount of copyrighted materials can exceed “de minimus” if it comprises the essential part of either the original work or the derivative work.  In other words.  You might cut out a tiny photo of a perfume bottle from a Chanel ad to use in your 10 X 10 painting, and highlight the bottle so that it is very important in your work.  That’s a no-no.

However, if the original copyrighted work is so disguised  that even the original creator cannot identify it, then you are in the clear.

The copyright police will not knock on your door if you have work on your walls that incorporates copyrighted material.  Probably you will not be sued if you show such a piece in an exhibition, but if jurors are becoming more savvy as to the rules,artists should be too.  It IS against the law to use this material.  Law suits have taken place,  but usually only involving “deep pockets” artists who are famous.

When using collage, use materials from your own photos or use papers you have made yourself and BE SAFE!