[thelist] quote from Webmonkey site re: copyrighted images

[spinhead]

Reading a bit about graphics at Webmonkey, I came across this line:

"To use an image from the Web, you must either first get permission from the
original owner or edit the image beyond recognition. "

How true is the second half? Can I really take someone else's graphic, edit
it until it's no longer recognizable, and use it? Doesn't copyright cover
derived works?

I'm not trolling for 'stealing is bad' comments, I'm wondering if anyone has
genuine authoritative info on that exact technical condition (because I'm
curious, not because I'm planning it; I know enough artists who owe me
favors that I'll never need to do my own graphics again.)

spinhead