Advice - Selling prints of Commissioned pieces

[quescostumes.livejournal.com]

I've recently heard of an artist who is selling prints that contains other people's characters. The art and style is her own, and the art with characters are either gifts or commissions. The prints for sale include the original piece uploaded to art sites, without any recoloring or hiding others' characters. Should people buy these prints, it's basically making money off of others' designs, right?

It's not okay, right? Is it legal? Rude? Or just frowned upon?

How should someone handle this kind of situation if the artist in question is a friend?

Any advice, A_B?

Edit: Thanks everyone for your very useful replies! :)

Comments

[houndofloki.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this is one of those situations where what is your legal right and what is usually considered "good etiquette" within the fandom aren't necessarily in line (along with reselling a real-media original you bought). It's completely within your rights to do this stuff, but it's considered polite to ask first.

Whether or not you want to "play nice" is up to you. Most people will say sure if you ask though - they may want to buy a print themselves if that's the issue or buy back their original from you if that's the issue, but you won't get many vehement no's. Asking is just easier and saves you drama.

[intj-reflection.livejournal.com]

Reposting and editing rights are not automatically transferred with commission purchase, though. Creating an avatar or banner from a commissioned piece is technically a copyright violation unless done with permission of the artist. (Though many don't care.) Same with reposting rights. Most artists who accept online commissions from websites like Deviantart or Furaffinity do so expecting the commissioner to repost as long as that are credited and linked back to, but it is not an automatically assigned right.

[redregon.livejournal.com]

In this area, the character (unless the person getting the commission has the paperwork and listing of the company it's registered to to prove that it's trademarked) is actually not covered under copyright either... a character in this sense is, legally, an idea and ideas cannot be copyrighted. they CAN be trademarked IF the person has registered (or is pending registration) their character as a trademark and this character is indicative of their company's brand. but the whole "this character is copytighted to X" is not technically legally binding... though, the pictures they're in are copyrights but the artist holds those copyrights as their own and not the character's owner.

For example... Fender, the mascot on FA can be trademarked (as is Mickey Mouse) because FerroxLLC is the parent company of FurAffinity. Senior fluffy-butts the third (random name) can not be a trademark.

(edited for typo)

[redregon.livejournal.com]

No, not really... those "rights" are more the same rights that are covered under derivative works. it's how i'm able to (if i so choose) have an MLP icon or a JTHM wallpaper. those are rights that anyone has (so, as an example, i could very well go to your gallery, choose a picture, crop it down and use it as an icon or wallpaper so long as i am not profiting off it's use directly.)

[redregon.livejournal.com]

I want to say thank you for this!

mainly because it's refreshing to see other artists whom actually understand copyright/trademark issues.

[radiocatastrophe (from livejournal.com)]

I dunno about that, when I started doing work pertaining to Home Stuck I was told by Hussie's lawyers that the characters were his intellectual property... I don't think you need to have a trademark on your character in order for it to be legally your own.

[redregon.livejournal.com]

That would have been an empty threat. even IP laws only pertain to the actual product featuring them and not just the concept. chances are they would have probably caught you on a breach of contract violation as opposed to an actual trademark infringement charge.

an intellectual property isn't something that resides in the intellect, it's a property that doesn't usually have a tangible, real-world component to it (such as software, video games, etc.)

[shukivengeance.livejournal.com]

He manufactures Homestuck merchandise and is creating a videogame, I'd be surprised if they weren't trademarked.

[radiocatastrophe (from livejournal.com)]

I was working on a set of horn meshes for IMVU, a lot of people who saw told me I should contact him before trying to post them in my catalog (which is weird as I don't see how someone could've owned the rights of how horns look) and his lawyers said that I couldn't sell the meshes of the horns because they belong to his characters which are his intellectual property.

This might prove helpful.

[mottenfest.livejournal.com]

http://fav.me/d5eesxt
"Josh Wattles, $makepictures is an expert on copyright law bringing perspective and experience to the issue from multiple creative industries. From art, film, music, and books, Josh has been directly involved in or advised on copyright issues for the biggest properties in the world. He is also a copyright professor teaching courses at at Loyola, Southwestern and the University of Southern California law schools in Los Angeles."

Copyright

[bluestar20337.livejournal.com]

But the major example I've been given in classes I've taken is this:

If an author gets paid to make a work for someone else, the person who pays for making the work (for example, the author's employer) will often get to own the copyright instead of the author him/herself. For example if a person working for a company like Microsoft creates a new computer software program at work, the Microsoft company would own the copyright.

You, the commissioner are paying some one else to make a work of art for you. You are paying them to make the work for you. Therefore you hold the copyright, not the original artist, unless specifically stated when commissioning, asked at a later date, or in a public TOS.

Personally, this is the way I run things. I ask permission before using their commissioned art in portfolios, and ask when I wish to use a commission as an example piece for other commissions.

Re: Copyright

[oceandezignz.livejournal.com]

Your example is an example of "work for hire." Large corporations or other entities who want to retain all rights generally A) contractually bind you into the agreement that what you are creating for them belongs to THEM. They generally will give you portfolio rights (or credit) in the process of negotiations. B) PAY FOR THESE RIGHTS. There's a reason logos and the like usually are paid in the quadruple+ digits, to compensate for the loss of artistic rights to the work, on top of services rendered.

A furry with a pink gshep can't pay $10 or less for a piece of art and claim copyright of the body of work.