- Jan 12, 2018
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I wouldn't count "adding a filter" as transformative, quite honestly. Usually it's not a problem if the game is free, but since the creator is making some money from it then the original artist should have grounds to sue.This might qualify as fair use, so this isn't necessarily a problem. I don't know about fair use in international law, but in U.S. copyright law, as long as something is considered "transformative", it is protected by fair use. (Of course, the interpretation of whether something is or is not considered transformative would depend on the judge.) If more was done than just applying a filter (like touch-ups at different spots on the filtered image), it would be more likely to qualify.
That's unlikely to happen of course, but you usually don't want to risk it.