Rataining rights to a painting

April 16, 2004 5:07 PM

So, last night I showed art in public for the very first time since showing some photoshop prints in 1997, and sold a painting. [Kinda crazy feeling, like i'm selling a child.] So i'm wondering, do i need a written contract to retain rights to the work? And what other cautions or words of advice as I prepare to sell some others?
posted by th3ph17 to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

get the cash in your hand and keep your feet on the ground.
posted by Frasermoo at 5:19 PM on April 16, 2004

When I buy art, I use a contract that licenses to me use rights in the territories I need and leaves copyright to the artist. You might want to adopt a contract that lists rights, too, but I gather you are not required to do so. There is another thread about this in AskMe, which discusses purchaser and artist rights, and that may give you some leads.
posted by caitlinb at 5:36 PM on April 16, 2004

Response by poster: ah, that is a great thread. I was looking for selling info, but working backwards from Owning works out just fine...maybe even better.

When I buy art, I use a contract that licenses to me use rights in the territories I need and leaves copyright to the artist.

what sort of use rights are you interested in besides ownership/resale?
posted by th3ph17 at 6:00 PM on April 16, 2004

In your case th3ph17, you'd license the person to the print itself. The purchaser gets a print of your work but not buying the right to reuse the art elsewhere (i.e. if the buyer scanned it and sold copies him/herself, put it on t-shirts or used your art in an ad). In that case you would be selling him the license to use the art in a certain way, place, and time period.

IANAL, but I think having a line on an invoice stating that the buyer is getting the print only and may not used for any other purpose. Most likely the buyer is buying it to hang in his/her home. If that's the case it can be pretty informal.

Most art buyers for commercial purposes like catlinb would be upfront and tell you the time/territory/media they are interested in buying. A commercial artist will charge an arm and a leg for "full buyout" (you are selling the right for the buyer to do anything they want with it) so art dealers negotiate for a smaller fee just to use the art in a certain media in a certain place for a certain time.
posted by birdherder at 6:56 PM on April 16, 2004

I am commissioning art for free publication, and wish to reserve some rights for promotional use as well use in the pubs themselves. Birdherder is right on target as to why I do this. I love the artists I work with, I deeply value their work, and I definitely can't afford to buy all the rights to it! (And if they don't drive a hard bargain in this respect on their own, I educate them that they should.)
posted by caitlinb at 7:04 PM on April 16, 2004

Get it in writing, people. Not everyone is as ethical as caitlinb.
posted by konolia at 8:50 PM on April 16, 2004

If there is nothing in writing, all intellectual property remains in the hands of the creator. Putting this in writing, however, is probably a good way to make sure the buyer understands this.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 8:42 AM on April 17, 2004

I don't know if this is helpful, but a friend of mine recently found that an original painting she owned was being used on greetings cards. She contacted the gallary where the painting was bought (she wasn't annoyed, just curious) and was told that the rights to the image remained with the artist
posted by devon at 8:58 AM on April 17, 2004