Copyright request... How much to charge???

Stanza · Oct 10, 2011

Today I receive a message to my facebook of somebody who wants a request of copyright to draw one of my pictures... The point is that like you know I am kind of new in this and never I had a copyright request before. The guy didn't gave me too much information about what he pretend to do with the draw, he just wrote to me this:

"How may I get in touch with you for a copyright request? I am in a group of artists (drawing) and I put one of your pictures up and was talking about how good of a drawing it would make. One person in the group commented and said I should probably get permission first, even for a drawing."

I wrote to him back asking him for what he want the picture? the propose of this one? or maybe if just is for personal reasons. Of course I would like to know you opinnion giving me advices of how much to charge and what can I offer him apart of advices for this new experience that it comes to me.

Hugs to everyone!!!
Stanza.

Destin · Oct 10, 2011

If he's just drawing it, he can do so without violating any copyrights. It sounds like he's just asking permission, not to pay to do it.

I have actually had this asked of me before. I let them do it in return for a copy of the finished drawing.

Destin · Oct 10, 2011

^just to clarify, the reason he doesn't need to purchase a copyright from you is that he isn't directly using your photo. He's simply using it as inspiration for a drawing.

Kerbouchard · Oct 10, 2011

As usual, Destin is wrong. He should probably stick to his volunteer fire fighter gig instead of giving copyright or usage advice.

A drawing of a photograph is called a derivative work(yes, Destin, there actually are legal terms to this kind of stuff. Heck, you could even look it up if you want to).

Basically, it's a separate work that has a major component of it inspired by a previous copyrighted work.

Without permission, it is, indeed a copyright violation and is actionable if the photographer chooses to pursue it.

If you want a drawing of your photo and that is enough compensation for you, by all means, accept it, but for them to use, display, sell, or copyright their derivative work, they would, indeed, need your permission. Heck, it's actually illegal for them to even create it, regardless of their intentions. You cannot recreate a copyrighted work without permission, period.

All that said, it sounds like it's a small group, a drawing and a small fee would probably be appropriate. Less then a few hundred bucks for sure, and maybe throw in a 5% royalty on any sales over $20,000 just in case one of the guys gets famous.

Just my .02.

Kerbouchard · Oct 10, 2011

Sorry, just noticed you were in Quebec, no idea what your copyright laws are. Just saw Destin's response, knew he was in the U.S. and responded based on that.

My apologies. I know international copyright law has some similarities, but I would be lying if I pretended I knew everything about Canadian copyright.

I did just do a quick search on Canadian Derivative Works and it appears there is a major distinction. It looks like in Canada, for there to be a copyright violation, the derivative work has to be reproduced.

Again, I'm not an expert in Canadian Copyright Law.

As usual, the best advice is to consult with a local attorney, but if I were you, in this case, I would save the attorney's fees, ask for a small fee, a copy of a drawing, and 5% of any sales over a mutually agreeable sum. Again, just my .02.

By the way, accepting a 'copy' of the drawing as part of your compensation could be enough to constitute the artist as 'redistributing'. Again, another something a local attorney could give you the best advice on, but this just doesn't seem like it's going to be a big enough deal to offset those costs.

Good luck to you on however you decide to proceed.

Tony S · Oct 10, 2011

Don't give a copyright to someone... always "license" the photo for a specific use, identify what and where they can use the photo and what there is in exchange for that license. If you release "the copyrights" to an image they can pretty much do whatever they want with it. Consider licensing for one time use.

Do a Google or Bing search on "licensing image rights", there will lots of good reading.