If a person infringes on someone's copyright by making a derivative work (like fanart for example), who owns that work? I'm aware the copyright holder can stop the work from being distributed and take it down, as well as claim damages that the derived work may have caused.


This question comes from a recent controversy where Disney started selling a toy made from a 3d model that they took from a fan work made by an internet user. The 3d model seems to be clear copyright infringement as the fan didn't obtain permission and the object depicted in the model was copyrighted by Disney. They could have made him take it down and/or get paid for damages, but It's not clear to me if they can just use the work as if it was a derived work made by them.


Is Disney in the right here? Does the ownership of the original work grant them ownership over these infringing derived works? If not, does the fan have a case here or does the initial infringement invalidate any claim he may have?


Sorry if this has been asked before, I looked for this question but didn't find anything close enough.



Does a copyright owner own infringing derived works?