Can a forged document be claimed as a copyrighted work of art?

[mandy]

Blogging bartender receives DMCA notice for posting a picture of a Fake ID she confiscated from an underage drinker at her bar:

I posted a blog entry about a girl who tried to use a fake ID at the bar I work at. I posted a picture of that fake ID. I used her full name in the text of the post. Friday, she commented that she found it and was furious about my noting a political affiliation in the post. Subsequently, she wrote about it in her facebook notes, or someone did, because hundreds of people have visited this blog from that reference point over the weekend...

Her response to the DMCA:

You cannot copyright fraudulent documents. You should not make or use fake ID's. You are responsible for you, so act as if everyone is watching and don't do things that you'll be ashamed of later-- and don't try to cover up things you do with rude and ridiculous legal documents. Sometimes being polite works a lot better than pulling out a big ol' shovel and digging yourself deeper....

full article: http://rachelhyman.blogspot.com/

[BellisimaJ.]

Can a forged document be claimed as a copyrighted work of art?

I believe it can if it's original, and not based on an actual work which still retains it's copyright ownership. I.E., you can paint a copy of a Van Gogh and copyright it. You can't make a copy of a work of art which still retains it's copyright. I may be slightly off here, but copyrights generally remain in effect for 75 years after the death of the owner, unless someone with a claim to the work renews the copyright. Otherwise, the work enters the realm of 'public domain'.
You can not use a copyrighted work of a Van Gogh (i.e., a photo that was taken by someone else or a poster, etc.) to paint your picture and then copyright it.You may not sell your work if you do so. You must paint from the original work (most museums allow this) or from a photo that YOU have taken of the original work.

I'm still on my first cup of coffee, so I may end up editing this.

You cannot copyright fraudulent documents. You should not make or use fake ID's. You are responsible for you, so act as if everyone is watching and don't do things that you'll be ashamed of later-- and don't try to cover up things you do with rude and ridiculous legal documents. Sometimes being polite works a lot better than pulling out a big ol' shovel and digging yourself deeper....

This is all true, however, IMO, the blogging bartender crossed the line when she published it with the user's full name in her blog. She should have taken the high road.

[jezebel]

The underage drinker's filing of the DMCA is an admission she did something illegal---i.e. used a fake ID to buy alcohol. 

[BellisimaJ.]

[quote author=jezebel link=topic=10477.msg52840#msg52840 date=1178894215]
The underage drinker's filing of the DMCA is an admission she did something illegal---i.e. used a fake ID to buy alcohol. 
[/quote]

Damn, Jez, you're right. I didn't even think about that.