Rights usage...

[largemammal]

Woah, that is pretty devious. Get those ducks in line and give em hell.

[b_turner]

Tell them your lawyer is Curt Eichelberger, and that he'll be contacting them soon.

[VonDada]

Originally Posted by Rock-C-Art

Well there is definitley some tricky shit going on. Apparently these people ARE the people that inquired about using it for a cd cover. They are using two different names, they don't have a telephone listing under the company name and the contact email on the website they have bounces back. I'm goint to do the poor man copyright NOW and I am filling out the official forms even as we speak.

I'm in a similar situation right now with a poster that was a one-sheet for advertising purposes only that the client now wants to sell a smaller version of since people are asking where they can get one.

I'm curious to see what happens here.

[Rock-C-Art]

Oh, guys you are not going to believe this, any advice on how to respond to this? The following is an email sent back to me from the purchaser of the artwork in question:

"Thanks for the email. We are fairly far along with the project but I will let everyone on the team know she would be willing to do some work with us. We are working on a shoestring budget as most indy projects are and the painting was a gift I bought for the singer on the album. It would be great if Tracy send me a statement related to letting us use the piece for the CD? I am not sure that we will but if we do it would be good to have our bases covered. I will definately recognize her work in the credits.

The project is being mastered and should be ready in January, hopefully, although I have my doubts after working on this for over a year."


I really love the "I'm not sure if we will, but if we do", part. So that is where we stand now. Is it just me or is that f****d up? Also, to update you on what I have done, I now have the "poor mans" copyright package in my possesion. And I included everything in there, source photos, pre-sketches, I think if it ever goes that far it is going to be obvious that I am the author of the art work. I also think they might have screwed up by sending me that email since I now have it on record that they know it is my art work and want authorization to use it.

So how should I handle this from here? I don't want to be really ugly about this but I think it needs to be made clear that it is not up to them whether or not the art gets used.

[connor13]

just tell them you're not an idiot, and if they use it without paying you'll find out and sue them.

[Shad]

Originally Posted by The Fresh Prints

poorman's copyright.

certify mail it to your self and never open it.
it will have the date of "copyright creation" and is authenticated and sealed by the federal post office.

i have heard this holds up fairly well in court.

This absolutely does not EVER work. It's a bad urban legend and bad advice for artists.

[Shad]

Originally Posted by Rock-C-Art

Is it just me or is that f****d up?

It's not a big deal.

Thank them for buying the painting.

Politely educate them that simple ownership doesn't give them publishing rights. Find a well written source.

Offer publishing rights for X dollars.

[Dusty!]

i agree with shad.

the piece sold for $300 bucks. exactly how much are you expecting for publishing rights? and are you prepared to supply them with a contract that lists usage rights etc etc...

[Rock-C-Art]

Well, I have to admit that I am not immediately prepared to supply them with a contract that lists usage rights and all of that - because I've never been in this position before. But I guess that I need to get educated about that kind of thing if I'm going to continue to do this kind of work so I'm trying to figure out exactly how to go about that.

As far as how much I am expecting for publishing rights and how much I sold the painting for, this really isn't that much about the money to me - I just don't want people reproducing my work without my permission. I also don't know what is a standard fee for publishing rights for this kind of thing. Another thing I could use advice on... For that matter since this was in a gallery show, I really did not create this particular piece for the intent of being reproduced. I do that enough in my day job and you can HIRE ME for that. So I'm not sure how I feel about it being used in this way anyway...

[Rock-C-Art]

I do agree with Shad though that I don't want to be to overly dramatic about this when it isn't called for. I think I will reply the way advised and see what comes up next.