Copyright?

[amberwingart]

I've got two threads going about what I thought was going to be a train wreck, lol, but I want to be sure everyone who's been helping me with it sees this...Here's today's update after my meeting with the client:

HOLY MOLE!! Thank you @Lee-White for your business videos and your advice - they just saved what I thought was an unsave-able negotiation. I watched your video 3 and I screen capped a few things you had up so that I could educate the client on things like work for hire, buy out of rights, typical pricing, length of time it takes an illustrator to create a piece, etc. And then I encouraged her to do a little research herself and to look at other illustrators on Upwork, where she hired me. I told her that she could definitely get someone for cheaper, but she'll have to make some concessions somewhere, with style, time, etc. and most likely they won't have the knowledge of the tarot, animal symbolism & astrology that I have, which means she'll have to give them a lot more direction, rather than getting ideas. Watching the video really helped me to feel confident about what I was saying to her, which helped her calm down.

At first she was clearly really upset, but after I talked with her she said she understood and she started asking me about other ways to pay me, like getting shares in her business or collaborating on the project, with me getting a percentage of the profits in return for a lower pay, and with us sharing copyrights (I'll have to ask about that). I said I'd definitely be interested in that, as long as I get attribution.

Speaking of attribution, she apologized profusely for the portion of her contract that said that she'd take credit for creating it and she said that she didn't know it was in there (I don't believe that, because a few seconds later she was talking about how celebrities have tarot card sets that only have their name on them and not the artist's, but whatever, I told her I wouldn't do that and she agreed).

SO, the train is back on track. I'm thinking of offering her exclusive unlimited worldwide rights for the original $10,5007, plus me getting 25% of the profits from the sale of the tarot, app & merchandise. Or is that too much? I don't know what percentage I should ask for...

There's no guarantee she'll accept, since the contract isn't signed yet, but she's going to come up with some proposals for me and we're going to talk again on Monday. THANK YOU @Lee-White AND SVS!!!

[Kevin Longueil]

@amberwingart This is sounding better for sure - it might be worth mentioning to the client or getting in writing that you intend to make your own Tarot card deck in the future and that Tarot cards will have many similarities by their very nature - I would also do many thumbnails for each card in the deck and keep the most excellent ideas that are maybe the most personal for yourself - this way you will have all the preliminary work done for your own Tarot deck!...which you were going to do before you got the gig... just an idea - anyways I'm glad the negotiations are going well

[amberwingart]

@Kevin-Longueil That's a good idea - I'll put something about that in the contract, if she decides to go forward. I already told her about it verbally, which is, I think, why she had her attorney put that clause in there. She kind of hinted at that today. But I'm hoping this moves forward because all in all she seems like a nice lady and I think it'll be a really neat project to work on!

[RobinSlee]

My biggest mistake when I got my first illustration job was not having a contract at all. I was so eager to get the job, I went with a gentlemans agreement. Big mistake. I sold the image with complete ownership, meaning I lost any rights to use it in my portfolio or use it as promotional materials. I am much more cautious now, and following this thread in detail. So, thank you for sharing

[amberwingart]

@RobinSlee Yeah, this has taught me just how careful we have to be. I had a friend look at the original contract the client had wanted me to sign and as it turns out, if I'd signed it, I would have opened myself up for a lawsuit for ANY piece of work I created after that because of my style & chosen subject matter (animals). The contract was worded in such a way that anything I ever painted again could be considered "derivative" of the tarot set (which, according to the contract, would be suit-worthy) - even children's book illustrations, . So signing this single contract could have potentially ended my career before it begins. My friend says I would have had to have changed my style and/or subject matter completely so as not to get sued. Scary!

[amberwingart]

@RobinSlee But if you didn't have a contract, the copyright stays with you...I've read that, in absence of a written contract, copyright always stays with the creator. And in matters of dispute, it's almost always given to the creator...You may not have lost that piece after all if you got nothing in writing, because the client didn't get anything in writing either.

[RobinSlee]

@amberwingart Interesting, really? I have never heard that before. I will have to dig a little deeper and check out some template contracts from the illustrators guild. Thanks for posting though, it just goes to show how treacherous these things can be! I am glad you managed to get yours back on track though, it was beginning to read like a nightmare!

[amberwingart]

@RobinSlee Yep! Here's something on copyrights. It's in reference to writing, but it's the same for visual art (or music or any creation). http://www.writing-world.com/rights/rights.shtml . Unless you specifically wrote down that you sold them the copyrights, then it still belongs to you.

[RobinSlee]

@amberwingart Thankyou, I will give it a read

[corykerr]

@amberwingart So sorry that I disappeared! We're in the middle of buying a house and things got crazy. Sounds like you're back on track, but I just want to chime in and say one thing about your intuition: always trust your gut. There have been several times here where you've said that you haven't felt quite right about it. Those are red flags and typically there is something more lurking underneath the surface. Too many times I've ignored that feeling and I got burned every time.

With this agreement, you're going to be in business for a long time with this person, make sure that you can trust them and that your contract is solid. You're doing great.