Contracts 101 - Resource Guide for Artists

[aeshnidae]

This only applies to US residents. US courts will respect the Berne Convention on intellectual property rights for copyrighted works created by non-US residents.

Just a heads up, in late March 2019, the US Supreme Court reaffirmed that in order to sue for copyright infringement in the United States, your copyright must be registered with the US Copyright Office. If you have not registered your copyright, you still own copyright in your works and other people have no right to use your copyrighted works, but you can't actually sue for infringement unless your copyright is registered. (You can recover for infringements that occur prior to registering your copyright, though.)

The fee to register online, for basic protection, is $35. See the US Copyright Office FAQ and the US Copyright Office Fees, particularly page 7.

The Supreme Court case is Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corp. v. Wall-Street.Com.

[Darkmage1337]

Good to know! Thanks for the update!

[aeshnidae]

I've attached Word versions of a template commission contract, as well as a sample (basically I filled out the template). Hope these are helpful! I will upload a template license agreement in the next few days.

[ladiestorm]

Thanks Ashnidae! These things really come in handy!!!!

[aeshnidae]

Thanks Ashnidae! These things really come in handy!!!!

You're welcome! I'm still not able to upload PDFs, but I guess that's okay. The Word versions are more useful.

[Raven9]

Thanks! This is very helpful!

[aeshnidae]

Thanks! This is very helpful!

You're welcome! I've seen too many companies take advantage of artists, so I'm trying to level the playing field a bit!

[Dimilison]

I read all 4 articles. Thank you very much for sharing this here.

[aeshnidae]

I read all 4 articles. Thank you very much for sharing this here.

You're very welcome! I'm glad these are useful resources.

[WildArtFlyFree]

wow. That's a lot of information. I am a big fan of contracts as a communication tool. Even with family members we need to be clear on scope and quality. A simple set of written notes can help, just so everyone understands and agrees. Of course artists should get paid and need protection from misunderstandings. Thank you for the obvious effort.