Copyright law on English commission?
Terence Maloney
"Etaoin Shrdlu" <cooper17...@xs4all.nl> wrote:
> Greetings all,
>
> I have just had two pictures published in a magazine. I wrote to them there
> to say that I was going to be putting the pictures in my online portfolio,
> and made some mention of the fact that as far as I know, without a contract,
> the magazine should have got "one time" or "first time" rights. I was told
> by another staff member that the publisher was under the impression that
> he'd "bought the picture as well as [my] time", and that the publishing
> rights do not revert to me.
>
> Anyway, I really doubt this will turn into a conflict or anything, as they
> have been so far nice and reasonable people, but I just wanted to ask here
> what the default rights (in England) are regarding a picture commissioned to
> illustrate a story or an article. Can they bar me from reprinting it in
> another market (which I don't actually intend to do)? Can they sell it on
> without my permission? Can they use it as an anthology cover without telling
> me? Can they demand to have the original? Can they bar me from selling the
> original as fine art? That sort of thing.
>
> If you have sold or bought commissioned illustrations to/from people in
> England, I'd appreciate it if you'd take a moment to help me with these
> questions, or direct me to an appropriate URL.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Katrina
>
Hi Katrina,
Copyright in any work you create is invested in you unless you assign that
copyright in writing.(Unless you are actually employed by the company, when
copyright resides with your employer.) Even buying the original material
artwork does not give the purchaser the copyright.....only the physical
picture. Whether the original artwork was sold along with the right to
licence the copyright may depend on the wording used in your invoicing. In
the absence of an expressly stated sale of the work, I would expect that
original to remain your property. If this is so, they cannot sell it.
It is a good idea to have a licence of copyright, an agreement in writing,
which states the terms under which you are licencing the use of your work.
The publisher to which you refer may have its own conditions under which it
is prepared to commission work, but presumably not, as they should have made
you aware of them, and ensured that you complied with them. The licence of
copyright enables you to restrict the use of your copyright to a period of
time, a region of the world or a country, and to the use to which it is put.
Having this written agreement ensures that both parties know exactly where
they stand, and it means that mis-understandings are avoided.It should
provide protection to both you and your client.
This having been said, whilst as an artist you wish to protect your rights,
it is also wise to consider the position of your client, and not to use the
same work in any away which might remotely be thought to conflict with the
client's interests. This is just common sense, as you presumably would wish
to promote a continuing business relationship with the client.
Remember that you are probably doing business with a company, not an
individual.......individuals move on, but your agreement stays with the
company. Any verbal statements become forgotten and with time, difficult to
prove. It is also not wise to presume that individuals within these
companies know about laws of copyright. In my experience, whilst (even large)
publishers would rigorously defend their own copyright, they can be quite
cavalier about someone elses copyright...and are quite prepared to employ
large firms of expensive lawyers when challenged on their transgressions.
I do not sell into the magazine market, but I would suspect that with the
use of modern technology, and with the ability to produce comparatively
small-run narrow sector magazines, large numbers of small magazine
publishers have started up, often with little or no knowledge of copyright
law, and possibly without formalizing their commissioning. There will always
be those who are quite happy to exploit the vulnerability and ignorance of
illustrators of course. It would be good to see an experienced magazine
illustrator respond to your posting, Katrina.
Best wishes,
Terry
(You don't say whether you are actually in the UK yourself. If you want to
e-mail me for more particular advice, please do.)
--
--
____ _____ ___ _ _____
| \| |/ __|(_)|_ _|Terence Maloney|Graphics,Retail,P.o.P,Packaging,|
| | || | |\_ \| | | | POSiT DESIGN |Corp.I.D, Textiles,Wallcoverings|
|_|--D|_E__S||I__G|_|N |_| TMaloneyatP...@purplex.freeserve.co.uk