[gorlilla]

What were the original elements there? That it was made into a guitar? What other part of the work was creative?

I'm honestly asking because I can't find anything that goes as far as the claim you're making regarding original elements. I'm not even sure what original/severable elements could exist in that particular case.

[antiterra]

Pickett argued there were original elements, not me. But whether they existed didn’t matter to the court. From the decision:

“We need not pursue the issue of originality of derivative works. The Copyright Act grants the owner of a copyright the exclusive right to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work. […] So Pickett could not make a derivative work based on the Prince symbol without Prince's authorization even if Pickett's guitar had a smidgeon of originality.”