{"id":7059,"date":"2009-05-21T13:55:36","date_gmt":"2009-05-21T21:55:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/?p=3300"},"modified":"2009-05-21T13:55:36","modified_gmt":"2009-05-21T21:55:36","slug":"are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you Fiercely Protecting your Copyrights?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"(c)<\/a><\/p>\n

As an artist, or writer, or photographer, your creations are your BRAND. \u00a0YOU are your brand, and everything that you’ve ever written, painted, or created is an extension of your brand.<\/div>\n
And all great freelancers know that you must\u00a0fiercely protect your brand.<\/div>\n

Much like Coca Cola would never allow someone to take their logo and bastardize it, as it could bring harm to their brand, an artist should never allow unauthorized use or manipulation of their copyright materials.<\/p>\n

For clarification, I’m going to give a brief background on copyrights:<\/p>\n

Copyright Law Automatically Protects an original artistic or literary work<\/span> \u2013 the owner of a copyright\u00a0\u00a9 has all rights to reproduction of the work and has authority in what happens to it.<\/p>\n

The Copyright Act of 1976<\/strong><\/span>:\u00a0\u00a0Copyright protection subsists from the time the work is created in fixed form. The copyright in the work of authorship immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. \u00a0(However, I recommend registering your images for additional protection.)<\/p>\n

The only way someone can claim copyright to your art, photos or creations is if you sign the rights over to them (or if you create it for an employer that you are a legal employee of)<\/span>.\u00a0 (There are\u00a0 few other exceptions to this rule – go to www.copyright.gov<\/span><\/a> <\/span>to learn more.)<\/p>\n

Signing permanent rights to someone else\u00a0is commonly done in the form of an agreement, the most popular being called a\u00a0“WORK FOR HIRE AGREEMENT.”\u00a0 Signing temporary usage rights is typically done with a “LICENSING AGREEMENT.”<\/p>\n

Warning<\/strong><\/span><\/span>:\u00a0 Many artists unknowingly sign a Work for Hire Agreement without realizing that they are literally losing all rights to their own work.\u00a0 And many companies will knowingly do this.\u00a0 (Nothing gets me more angry than when this happens!)<\/span><\/p>\n

If you want to be a known artist, and if you license your art or create images and sell the usage rights to other companies for their own use, be very careful of losing your copyrights.\u00a0 NEVER sign a “WORK FOR HIRE AGREEMENT<\/span><\/span>“<\/span>.\u00a0 NEVER.\u00a0 I don’t care who asks you to sign it, or why, or if they aren’t going to pay you unless you do, or if the sky will fall if you won’t.\u00a0 If you want to keep control of your art, and your brand, and your integrity as an artist, you must never, ever, sign away your rights.<\/p>\n

More reasons to not give away your rights:\u00a0 You’ll never be able to use those images in magazine articles written about you, or in coffee table books that you may publish in the future, or put them on your website to show work you’ve done.\u00a0 Also, if something unreputable happens with your images, and people recognize them as yours, your reputation and brand will suffer.<\/p>\n

One of my artist friends called me one day & said that a surf company had commissioned him to do a large painting on a surfboard.\u00a0 He did the work – it took several days – and then submitted an invoice for payment.\u00a0 They sent him a “Work for Hire Agreement” to sign before they would pay him.\u00a0 Concerned, he called me, and said “well, it’s not that important to me.\u00a0 I’m not planning on using that painting on anything in the future anyway<\/em>.”\u00a0 That’s not the point.\u00a0\u00a0 This particular artist has a very distinct style, which when you see his art you know it’s his.\u00a0 He’s very well known in the art world.\u00a0 If he signed away his rights, and that company was sold, and then someone else owned the art, they could do anything they want with it, which could ultimately harm this artists’ name & brand.\u00a0 After talking to me, he called the client and said he wouldn’t sign the form.\u00a0 They balked, but they eventually paid him.<\/p>\n

One Exception to my “Don’t sign a work for hire agreement” Rule:\u00a0\u00a0 You can sign it if you are not a career artist and \/or if you do not plan on having your name be known as an artist, and if you don’t really have a distinct style that can be tied to you directly.\u00a0 And there’s nothing wrong with this – many artists are happy being freelancers that have no particular style of their own, but rather they adapt to their clients’ needs.\u00a0 This is okay, it’s a career choice.<\/p>\n

How\u00a0do you\u00a0handle a client that wants to use your art, and they demand ownership of all rights<\/span>?\u00a0 Tell them no, you have a duty to your collectors and other clients to maintain control over your images, but that you will be happy to assign rights to them for a period of time (2 years) for a particular use (i.e. t-shirts or advertising).\u00a0 This way, you provide them with what they need, and at the same time, you keep ownership of your copyrights.\u00a0 A reasonable client will understand the importance of protecting your brand.\u00a0 A client who doesn’t understand is not worth working with.<\/p>\n

For more information on copyrights, go to http:\/\/www.copyright.gov\/<\/a> – it’s a very easy site to get information from.<\/p>\n

I want to see you be successful, now and in your future 30 years from now!\u00a0 So protect your copyrights and think far into the future before signing anything away.<\/p>\n

\"Standing

Standing in front of a Phil Roberts (c) Creation!<\/p><\/div>\n

Maria “Spunk” Brophy xxoo\u00a0 (Follow me on Twitter<\/a>!)<\/p>\n

Do you think this article will help someone you know?\u00a0 Please, Share it with them!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an artist, or writer, or photographer, your creations are your BRAND. \u00a0YOU are your brand, and everything that you’ve ever written, painted, or created is an extension of your brand. And all great freelancers know that you must\u00a0fiercely protect your brand. Much like Coca…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[92,838,901,902],"class_list":["post-7059","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-drews-tips","tag-art-brands","tag-photographer-copyright","tag-protect-your-brand","tag-protect-your-copyrights"],"yoast_head":"\nAre you Fiercely Protecting your Copyrights? - Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Maria Brophy\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/\",\"name\":\"Are you Fiercely Protecting your Copyrights? - Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish-300x104.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-05-21T21:55:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-05-21T21:55:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47cc91dd4c83db310dcaa0f044bf2c00\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish.jpg\",\"width\":950,\"height\":332,\"caption\":\"(c) Drew Brophy\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/\",\"name\":\"Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art\",\"description\":\"Surfer, Artist, Illustrator\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47cc91dd4c83db310dcaa0f044bf2c00\",\"name\":\"Maria Brophy\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cc1fb2e257168ad0e987738d4bb2500?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cc1fb2e257168ad0e987738d4bb2500?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Maria Brophy\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/author\/maria\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Are you Fiercely Protecting your Copyrights? - Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Maria Brophy","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/","url":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/","name":"Are you Fiercely Protecting your Copyrights? - Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish-300x104.jpg","datePublished":"2009-05-21T21:55:36+00:00","dateModified":"2009-05-21T21:55:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47cc91dd4c83db310dcaa0f044bf2c00"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/are-you-fiercely-protecting-your-copyrights\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/01\/sectornine-flyingfish.jpg","width":950,"height":332,"caption":"(c) Drew Brophy"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/","name":"Drew Brophy - Surf Lifestyle Art","description":"Surfer, Artist, Illustrator","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/47cc91dd4c83db310dcaa0f044bf2c00","name":"Maria Brophy","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cc1fb2e257168ad0e987738d4bb2500?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7cc1fb2e257168ad0e987738d4bb2500?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Maria Brophy"},"url":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/author\/maria\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7059"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7059"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7059"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drewbrophy.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7059"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}