i guess you can say copyright?

[Ejazzle]

So i took a picture got it printed and is hanging in my moms store. And some guy did a replica painting of MY picture to sell on a pillow. He was courteous enough to ask me if it was alright to put them into gull scale production. What do I say? It's my photo, my idea, but it isnt MY painting. So I guess it
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] is an artists rendition of your piece of art. [/FONT]



what do i do? please help

 

[joeywpc]

Did you create the scene you photographed? Your photo is really an impression of something anybody can see.

 

[Ejazzle]

i created the photo itself (the print) which is what the painter saw.

 

[Overread]

Your BEST move is to go and talk to a proper lawyer about this matter.
Myself I would expect that since it is your photograph that the painter has copied then the image itself would be your property *yes the scene can be viewed by anyone, but your framing and presentation is yours* and thus he does need your permission to retail the image on his pillows.
That is my gut feeling, but do check things out and see what your real legal rights are. Further consider all the options - do you go for getting royalties off each pillow sale or maybe just a oneoff fee for the use of the image in that particular context.
What ever you and he decide DO make sure you get it written out clearly in writing and make sure each of you has a copy - which you both sign.

 

[KmH]

You can do some of your own legal checking at www.copyright.gov

I agree with Overread that it's worth consulting an attorney trained in the laws of intellectual property.

The fact the artist asked you for permission is telling. How you responded is crucial.

He is wanting to profit off your intellectual property, so you should benefit too. In fact you should benefit, to some extent, from every pillow he sells that has your image on it.

How many pillows, without your image on them, would he sell? In other words your image is what may compel people to by the pillow in the first place.

I would not settle for a one time payment. I would write a use license that provides me a percentage of gross revenues, since net revenue can be much more easily, uh, tweeked.

You can explore use licensing at: Licensing Guide | American Society of Media Photographers