In Comedy III Productions, Inc. v. Gary Saderup, Inc. (2001) 25 Cal. 4th 387, the court held a defendant may raise the First Amendment as an affirmative defense to an allegation of appropriation if the defendant's work " 'adds something new, with a further purpose or different character, altering the first with new expression, meaning, or message . ... ' " (Comedy III, supra, 25 Cal. 4th at p. 404.) In other words, the new work must contain significant "transformative elements." (Id. at pp. 406-407.) The "transformative" test protects the right of publicity. It continues to shield celebrities from literal depictions or imitations for commercial gain by works which do not add significant new expression. Moreover, a work which has been "transformed" is less likely to interfere with the economic interests protected by the right of publicity, because a distorted image of a celebrity is a poor substitute for more conventional forms of celebrity depictions, and thus less likely to threaten the market for celebrity memorabilia. (Comedy III, supra, 25 Cal. 4th at p. 405.) The transformative test is straightforward: The "inquiry is whether the celebrity likeness is one of the 'raw materials' from which an original work is synthesized, or whether the depiction or imitation of the celebrity is the very sum and substance of the work in question." (Comedy III, supra, 25 Cal. 4th at p. 406.) If the "product containing celebrity's likeness is so transformed that it has become primarily the defendant's own expression" of what he or she is trying to create or portray, rather than the celebrity's likeness, it is protected. (Id. at pp. 406-407.) Applying this test in Comedy III, which involved drawings depicting The Three Stooges, and T-shirts made from those drawings, the court concluded the drawings and T-shirts were not entitled to First Amendment protection. The artist who created them, while highly skilled, contributed nothing other than a trivial variation that transformed the drawings from literal likenesses of the three actors. (25 Cal.4th at pp. 408-409.)