Visual Artists
If you create or work with visual art, you may work in sculpture, paint, mixed media, and so many other formats. A variety of legal issues may arise related to your artwork. Copyright attaches to your work as soon as it is created. Contracts may be needed for the creation, sale, and marketing of your artwork. Trademark protection may apply to any name or brand associated with your art. Business law issues are relevant to generating revenue from your work.
What Can a Lawyer do For You?
As lawyers specializing in the issues artists face every day, we help our clients with contracts, protecting their work, name, and rights, and navigating the art world. This includes drafting, negotiating, and reviewing all sorts of contracts like services agreements, work for hire agreements, commission agreements, model releases, and licensing agreements. It includes protecting copyrights of visual artwork and trademark protection of names and logos. It means maximizing our clients’ rights and revenue. Essentially, we are here to handle the business and legal stuff so you can do great work! Please reach out to us at Creative Law Network if you have any questions. We’re here to help!
Legal Checklist:
Visual artists can create a piece of art that fills a space with beauty, completely transform objects into new and stunning forms, and make use of form and space in new and exciting ways. There are so many details and behind-the-scenes items that bring these works of art to the public and help make a successful career in the arts. Making sure these things are in order and done correctly can set you apart and put you on a path to success. So we’ve put together this basic checklist for visual artists. This list isn’t exhaustive or in any particular order, and not every item is relevant to every artist. It can be a guide to keep you on your toes as you sculpt a career in the visual arts.
Registering the copyrights in your artwork is a really important step! (Look here for more about copyrights.) Registration of three-dimensional works can seem especially tricky. We have experience with registration of all sorts of three-dimensional and visual art and can help you through the process. Be sure to always take detailed photographs of your artwork from all angles!
If you’re working with other creators, you want to know who owns what! Copyright law says that if someone contributes to a work, they are a co-owner of the copyright in the work unless they say otherwise in writing. A Work for Hire Agreement is one way to retain full ownership in the copyright of your work.
If you are using an online service to display, sell, or distribute your work, don’t forget to thoroughly review the terms of use and license agreements on the website! Understanding what the website offers, and what it may take from you, is really important when it comes to the control of your work and business.
If your work is to be displayed in public spaces, it is important to have a clear agreement about that arrangement. How the work will be displayed, and for how long, are some basic terms. It’s crucial to have clear terms about handling revenue from the sale of a work on display. What happens if the work is damaged while in transit, being prepared, or on display? This should all be explicitly clear in a written agreement.
If you are creating a commissioned work, it’s crucial to clarify the rights you have with the person or entity commissioning the work. A solid commission agreement will lay out the protection and control over your work. Works of public art can have particularly complex issues and the contracts for public art are different from other commission agreements. Make sure all the terms are clear and in writing!
If you are creating works with models, it is important to have proper releases and documentation from everyone involved. This can protect you from liability and secure the ownership of your work.
Insurance can be a valuable tool for the protection of certain works. For pieces that are in galleries, or commissioned for public spaces, and even for shipping works to buyers, insurance protection can help protect you in the event of damage to your work.
If you operate under a business or trade name, that name is a trademark and should be protected. Federal trademark registration is the best protection for your business/trade name and/or logo. (Look here for more about trademarks.)
Forming a company (like a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation) is a useful tool to run your business and protect you from personal liability. (Look here for more about business formation.)
CONTRACTS! While contracts may not be fun, they lay out the necessary terms for any deal. Getting solid contracts in place is crucial and can help avoid legal problems in the future. A good agreement for your services is absolutely crucial. It covers how you’re paid, ownership, deliverables, insurance, liability, cancellation policy, and so much more. Service agreements can be flexible since no two projects or clients are exactly the same. Creative Law Network can draft the agreement to suit how you do business, not the other way around!
If you need any help with anything listed above, please reach out to us at Creative Law Network!