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Copyright Law and Commissions: an FYI
9 years ago
Every country is different, with different laws and ways to apply those laws. However copyright is one of those sets of laws that are shared by the larger world, even if they are policed slightly differently.
I understand that Copyright is NOT taught in schools. Not like the general laws of the land might be... However it is not hard for someone to look it up. Even if Wikipedia isn't the best place for information ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright ), it is a good jumping off point.
Sure laws are BORING to read through with legal jargon that makes your head spin even AS a lawyer. However self-educating is very important.
That said it is exceptionally important for a creator of stuff (arts, crafts, robots, robots that create arts and crafts, whatever) to BE more educated and protect yourself. No one else is really going to do it for you, and when you get ripped off you have no one else to blame but your self.
However - it is ALSO for serious buyers to better educate themselves as well. Just because you get the physical work doesn't mean you get all the rights to it as well. Unless a work is very clearly stated as a "Work for Hire" (which is legal jargon), you get the final product and none of the rights to it. The sale of a piece of work does not give you rights to:
* to reproduce the copyrighted work
* to prepare derivative works based upon the work
* distribute copies of the work to the public
* perform the copyrighted work publicly
* display the copyrighted work publicly
These are protected by law across many many countries.
THAT said, contracts for any commission work HAVE to be done if you are going to seriously consider making money selling your work. This tells the buyer upfront what they are allowed to do, or what you are willing to give up. Verbal agreements hold very little water especially when it comes to PayPal's refund system. They often side with the buyer if the seller doesn't have the back up to defend themselves.
Some people don't realize that web pages are considered a form of publictaion by current internet copyright law. ( http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/webpage.html ). So even posting your commissioned art work to Imgr, Reddit, Facebook, your personal website, etc is illegal unless you have written permission to do so. Period.
So whining about how you were dupped isn't true. Being un-aware of the law does not make you immune to it.
I understand that Copyright is NOT taught in schools. Not like the general laws of the land might be... However it is not hard for someone to look it up. Even if Wikipedia isn't the best place for information ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright ), it is a good jumping off point.
Sure laws are BORING to read through with legal jargon that makes your head spin even AS a lawyer. However self-educating is very important.
That said it is exceptionally important for a creator of stuff (arts, crafts, robots, robots that create arts and crafts, whatever) to BE more educated and protect yourself. No one else is really going to do it for you, and when you get ripped off you have no one else to blame but your self.
However - it is ALSO for serious buyers to better educate themselves as well. Just because you get the physical work doesn't mean you get all the rights to it as well. Unless a work is very clearly stated as a "Work for Hire" (which is legal jargon), you get the final product and none of the rights to it. The sale of a piece of work does not give you rights to:
* to reproduce the copyrighted work
* to prepare derivative works based upon the work
* distribute copies of the work to the public
* perform the copyrighted work publicly
* display the copyrighted work publicly
These are protected by law across many many countries.
THAT said, contracts for any commission work HAVE to be done if you are going to seriously consider making money selling your work. This tells the buyer upfront what they are allowed to do, or what you are willing to give up. Verbal agreements hold very little water especially when it comes to PayPal's refund system. They often side with the buyer if the seller doesn't have the back up to defend themselves.
Some people don't realize that web pages are considered a form of publictaion by current internet copyright law. ( http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/webpage.html ). So even posting your commissioned art work to Imgr, Reddit, Facebook, your personal website, etc is illegal unless you have written permission to do so. Period.
So whining about how you were dupped isn't true. Being un-aware of the law does not make you immune to it.
Myst_Xtreme
~mystxtreme
This is important knowledge for anyone to have.
