As part of the AA2A lecture series, this weeks discussion was based on copyright and licensing. Prior to this talk, I already had a brief understanding of these subjects, thanks to ‘Lisa Congdon’s Essential Guide for Building Your Career' previous post. Although this is an excellent book, it only gave me a very basic overview of copyright. Therefore, this lecture was most insightful, filling the gaps in my knowledge.
Three practitioners spoke about their personal experiences, centring on intellectual property, copyright ownership and contracts. Out of all the designers, I found Trina Dalziel’s experience the most relevant to my practice. A freelance illustrator, Trina has worked with many clients over the years, specialising in editorial and book design. Whilst working on one of these projects, she experienced an unfortunate ordeal with a publishing company, regarding copyright and licensing. Surprisingly, prior to working on this brief, Trina had a good relationship with the brand. In the past, she’d produced several artworks for them, never experiencing any difficulties before. In regards to this project, Trina was unable to obtain a contract from the company, after being promised on several occasions. Eventually, she received a written copy, outlining the terms and agreements, where she noticed the company were asking her to ‘assign copyright’. This means that Trina would be giving up all the rights to her illustrations. She'd be unable to use, re-licence, or make money from these pieces again. Nothing on this contract was what they’d verbally agreed. As a result, Trina stopped all work and went to the ‘small claims court’. This enables designers to present their case to court if they are owed money by a company. Since Trina had produced all the artworks for the business, she received a ‘kill fee’, a payment made to the designer when a job has been cancelled.
Although Trina had a happy ending, this experience stresses the importance of having a written agreement, prior to working on a project. This acts as physical proof. Without a contract, your design rights are not covered. Although you may have established trust with a client, problems can still occur. Trina recommends always having your own contract, and not just relying on the company to supply one. In fact, the association of illustrators, provide their members with ‘pro-formal’/contracts, where designers can use this document as a template. Contracts can also be drawn up through the solicitors, however, these come at a high price. After experiencing similar difficulties, speaker Celia Smith negotiated her contract with a solicitor, costing £350. It’s not mandatory for a contract to be professionally written, however, Celia believed this was money well spent.
Trina also raised attention to ‘picture libraries’ in her discussion. These are websites are where you can directly upload your work, and the company will hold the license. Each time someone uses one of these images, you’ll get 50% of the money. For example, ‘Getty libraries’ are a big organisation, where many artists upload past examples of their artwork. This may be something to consider in the future, to gain extra pocket money.
There are lots of organisations to help artists experiencing copyright issues. DACS (design and artists copyright society) is widely recognised amongst the art and design world. They offer three different services to designers, including; payback, artists resale right and copyright licensing. It’s great to know that there are such organisations available to support artists. Once I properly set myself up, I believe they will be of great use to me.
Some additional points from this lecture:
- Always follow up a verbal agreement with an email to avoid misunderstandings.
- Always confirm what has been discussed so you have a written record.
- If a contract is a slow process, always send a follow-up email.
- Never invest the time and money into a project unless you have received a contract.
- Never be afraid to negotiate with the client and challenge them - your rights need to be protected at the end of the day.
- Always lookout for the words; ‘copyright, licensing and assignment’ in contracts. Carefully read over these and make sure you understand their meanings.
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