Let’s start with some advice: Any graphic materials that promote something; whether products, businesses, or charitable causes, and the graphics contain images of recognizable people, — always have those people sign a model release. Of course, there are non-commercial uses that may also require a model release, (see When To Use A Model Release) but commercial uses almost always require a...
Every business needs a contract at one time or another. They are everywhere. Whether you are a struggling artist, world-renowned photographer, or a gallery owner, you will be inundated with contracts from art dealers, agents, exhibitors, publishers, ad agencies, museums as well as non-art industry members like landlords and contractors. If a contract is supposed to make sure that both parties...
Whenever an artist or writer portrays a living person in an unflattering light, they are likely to receive a letter or angry phone call saying things like “I am going to sue you for defamation” or “you’ll be hearing from my lawyer,” along with plethora of swear words. It sounds pretty serious and scary, but the reality is that it is usually just bluster; defamation suits are not that easy to win...
As a general rule, when an artistic or literary work is created, the author is the one that holds the copyright. Nobody can copy, distribute, or display the work without the author’s permission. When a painting is sold, the buyer owns the painting itself, but does not have the right to use that image for anything else other than to hang it. But what happens if the artist was hired specifically...
It is a common misperception that you cannot copyright a building design. That is probably because, before 1990, there wasn’t much protection for building designs. At that time, anyone could reproduce buildings that looked identical to those created by others, as long as they didn’t actually use copied drawings to build them. With the passage of the Architectural Works Copyright Protection Act in...
Picking a name for a business or product is one of the first steps for any new venture. However, many companies don’t register their trademarks during the start-up phase, usually waiting until a later time when sufficient cash is available if registered at all. That decision is a bit of a gamble. In reality, businesses should prioritize trademark registration for their brands or company...
In this article, we discuss international copyright treaties, the minimum protection you may see from countries across the globe, as well as the enhanced rights only available in the United States.
What things should artists be negotiating as part of licensing or gallery contracts? We take a look at some of the most important along with a review of several standard provisions.
Don't be at a disadvantage when negotiating against an experienced opposing party. Here a few things to consider to even the playing field.
Given the popularity of street art, video mash-ups, remixes, or pop art, it's important to know whether the works being used are copyright-free.
A team of scientists, programmers and historians have created an algorithm that created a physical work of art that mimics the look of a genuine Rembrandt painting. But can a computer generated work have copyright protection?
Many people think if they pay for creative work, they own the copyright but as you'll see in this article, that isn't always the case.
