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Art Licensing: The Basics
Art Licensing: The Basics
As an artist, it's not your job to know legal terms and interpret contracts. However, if you are trying to get your art licensed, you should understand the fundamentals of art licensing before you sign or agree to anything. From understanding common legal terms to recognizing important business points that should not be overlooked, there are plenty of things to know about licensing art, and taking the time to educate yourself will improve your chances of success in the business of art licensing.
As you may know, under U.S. law (and the laws of many other nations) you typically own the copyright in any artwork originally created by you. As the owner of the copyright in your artwork, you have the exclusive right to copy, distribute and display the work. Art licensing refers to the act of leasing to someone else (a licensee) any or all of these exclusive rights. Thus, by granting someone a license to use your art, you are typically giving them temporary permission to reproduce and distribute your art in accordance with the terms of a written contract or license agreement.
The license agreement should state, among other things, the way in which the licensee is allowed to use your art (for example, the specific types of products on which the licensee may use your art), the geographic territory in which the licensee may use your art, the amount of time during which the licensee may use your art and, of course, what license fee or royalty the licensee will pay you for the right to use your art.
Some artists choose to license their artwork on their own. Others seek the assistance of an art licensing agent. An experienced art licensing agent can help both with finding potential licensing deals for the artists they represent, and with negotiating terms that are both protective of and favorable to their artist clients. For their services, art licensing agents usually require a commission equal to anywhere from 25% to 50% of your art licensing revenues. In addition, most agents are extremely selective as to the artists they will represent, and most require exclusive relationships with their artist clients. Thus, in most cases, once you sign with an art licensing agent, you will not be permitted to license any of your artwork on your own or through another licensing agent for the duration of your relationship with your agent.
Whether you enlist the services of a licensing agent or you go it alone, there are several questions you should always raise in reviewing any license agreement. Among these are (1) is the licensee's use of the artwork limited to certain, clearly identified product types?, (2) do you have an approval right over all product concepts and pre-production samples of the products on which your art will be used?, (3) what types of deductions is the licensee entitled to take from the revenues on which royalties will be paid to you?, (4) under what circumstances may you terminate the license agreement, and under what circumstances may the licensee terminate?, (5) are you entitled to a minimum amount of licensing revenue under the agreement regardless of the licensee's sales performance?, (6) does the licensee have the right to allow anyone else to use (i.e. sublicense) your art?, (7) does the licensee have an automatic right to renew the agreement at the end of its term and, if so, will the royalty rate or any other business terms be open for renegotiation at that time?, (8) is the licensee required to list your copyright notice on the products?, (9) are you sufficiently protected from legal liability if the licensee's products cause injury or damage to persons or property?
Keeping in mind and raising such questions will help ensure that the proposed license agreement is at least fair (if not favorable) to you.
For more information about art licensing, you may wish to refer to the website of the International Licensing and Manufacturing Association (L.I.M.A.), the official trade group for the licensing industry.
If you would like to get started trying to license your art but don't want to make an upfront, exclusive commitment to a licensing agent, you may wish to consider uploading your work for display on LicensArt.com. Please see our About-Us page for further details.
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