I thought I had an original idea for a piece of up cycled furniture, after creating a collection of the furniture I started to sell it. I found later that someone had either copied my idea completely or had it before me. Either way, the idea is not original now.... What are the laws relation to the copyright of an upcycled or recycled product? If you see an upcycled or recycled design can you reproduce it and sell it without breaking the law?

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The IDEA of recycling in order to make furniture cannot be copyrighted. Only a very specific design. So, if you're doing your own design, no problem. If you're duplicating someone else's design, then you might run into problems. That said, furniture is not what gets copyrighted.

?? I'm confused. Copyright means the right to copy a work of intellect (such as a graphic design). Unless the copy is exact. there is no copyright issue. USE of an idea is not copyrighted, merely the specific design.

You could, in theory, copyright a creative work of art in the form of furniture (as sculpture is copyrightable), but only the creative art. Under US law: "In no case does copyright protection for an original work of authorship extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, method of operation, concept, principle, or discovery, regardless of the form in which it is described, explained, illustrated, or embodied in such work." 17 USC § 102(b). Maybe you're not limited to "copyright" protection; you're talking "design" protection, which would require you to file an application for patent protection of an original design, or an original invention, and even that would only allow you to prevent others from using a very similar design. An ornamental design patent does not cover any functional aspects and a utility (invention) patent does not cover any ornamental aspects of the invention. Patent applications are typically expensive and time-consuming. Also, because the design has been used in public, you would have to file your US application within one year of having done that, or forever lose the right to any patents on it. If anyone else was already using it in the USA before your idea, then you cannot patent it. Furthermore, your patent application would be examined to determine whether the same design or invention had already been described in a printed publication by anyone in any language anywhere in the world, prior to your "invention" of it.