Artists, unless stated, can I assume I own rights of delivery? [ARCHIVED]

[mrspanda]

I buy a LOT of art here on Fiverr. I have seen gigs where the artists, for a gig extra, will “sell you the rights” to the piece of work but I was under the impression that if I purchased it, all the rights belong to me, as with the writing gigs. Unless you state otherwise, I own the piece of art now.



I might be wrong in that assumption though… if I am wrong, can someone please correct me on how this actually works? I don’t want to have been wrong this whole time… I’d feel like a poophead.

[mrspanda]

Thanks madmoo. I read the TOS a lot, but it always makes my head spin… (I didn’t make it out of college alive heehee)



Alrighty. I’m going to just assume I own all the rights to everything I’ve bought so far, since none of the gigs specified I had to buy the rights. xD Just making sure.

[cust0mcr3ationz]

You own all rights unless its watermarked or its a draft. All purchases beyond the first sale without some sort of protection are fair game. Some people sell the one layer EPS vector or the multilayer psd for $5 or more.

[anzal1]

thanks for this post. I have been wondering about this for quite some time :D. But i plan on giving all the rights to the buyer who buy my art. The TOS spins my head too:(

[bexcal]

Thak you for this post, it saved me big time. I think it’s very good for new artists and buyers alike to be aware of that.

[mrspanda]

No problem guys. I know the TOS is a little wordy sometimes and you can’t make heads or tails of it-- I mean, I read TAROT CARDS and they’re sometimes more straightforward than the TOS. 😛 Glad I have the forums!

[getaportrait]

It would have been absurd to buy a logo and not be allowed to use it, right? Although for some other kind of creations I don’t believe a fee for granting copyrights would be that weird (for example if there is an illustration gig and Customer 1 wants a drawing of a lion to hang it on his wall, and Customer 2 wants to use it in his book or on his website).



Personally, I would never think about charging extra in order to let someone use a portrait or caricature I drew for them. Art should be shared.

[marioland]

You can use the logo that I designed for you but I can still have the copyright to it, which means that you cannot alter it without my permission for example. So yeah, there’s different pathways to it.

[cust0mcr3ationz]

Reply to @marioland: Technically you’re right in some ways. I rope in a lot of clients that way who refuse to buy the vector. I explain to them if you buy my vector file you’ll be able to pass it off to another person later if you need to. I just explained this to a repeat client whose ordered 14 different times over a few months.

[marioland]

Reply to @cust0mcr3ationz: Well, I was just trying to prove a point - that it’s not absurd to buy a logo and assume you’ve got copyright over it.

[mark74]

Just an example of how it works in Italy: if you want a photo shoot for your wedding, of course you call a photographer (professional).

You pay the photographer to take pictures and have photo printing (and maybe the images in digital format) and you have the right to use those photos as you please; but the photographer still holds the ownership of the photos (intellectual property) and infact he can show them in front of his shop or take them to a show and you can’t deny him this right!

The only way to avoid this is to agree in advance (in writing) so that the photographer gives you the originals of the pictures (film and/or digital copies) and undertakes not to take any copies.

[ynneblack]

Well, if the artists draw something for you and spend a lot of time on it, it’s their creation, their baby, they put time and effort and experience in it, you can’t expect that you can use it for example for commercial purposes without asking them. That would be morally rude. I state in my description for “draw anything” that I keep the rights unless you buy them - if someone needs a banner for website, I don’t care. If someone wants to sell it as a t-shirt design, I do ask for a little extra - it’s only fair. Seriously, I get 4 dollars, and he makes 400+ on it?



At least ask, please.

[treesaver]

Reply to @getaportrait: By legal default, the rights are with the creator, unless you are working with a company, such as Fiverr, who states that they or the person you sell your images to become the owners of the copyright. Usage rights allow the use of the artists image by a specific entity under specific conditions. Copyrights allows the person to not just use, but reproduce (reproduction rights), use it to promote their business (commercial rights), modify or sell the image. There is also a creative commons license which is usually composed of unlimited usage rights, free of charge, with certain restrictions.
There is some debate as to whether the TOS agreement on Fiverr is legally viable, but I think it is easier for everyone to simply state the rights they want to give as an artist. Everyone has different thoughts and feelings on the subject and no one is wrong. Comes down to personal opinion, preference and good communication.

[fastcopywriter]

Reply to @ynneblack: You’re assuming your t-shirt design will sell 400+. Usually that’s not the case, selling t-shirts is very difficult, you need a perfect design, and perfect marketing. We all hear the stories of the people that sold 10,000 t-shirts on Teespring, yet they are the exception. Some people create t-shirts based on what’s trending, Nelson Mandela dies today, in 24 hours there might be 50 Mandela tribute t-shirts for sale.

Does being current guarantee they will sell? Not really. A teespring guru once told me only 33% of his campaigns succeed, and while he makes a lot of money, that 33% has to pay for the 67% than fail and make enough money to generate a respectable profit. In fact, some teespring masters might order three designs to test which sells the best. Furthermore, even if you come up with a great idea, it will be stolen soon enough. The movie 22 Jump Street featured the t-shirt “Sun’s Out Guns Out,” you google that and you will find hundreds of versions of that t-shirt. Anyway, that’s what I know.