How does artwork licensing work

I want to be just like you when I grow up! Seriously, your posting provides so much great information. I want to take the plunge next year and approach companies for licensing.

Thank you so much for your insight. I would LOVE to get my art licensed and this article has given me a step forward and a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for your intelligent, insightful article. I was just talking to my husband about a project that I am working on, and wanting to get licensed.

This helped me tremendously! Hey, I searched for this blog on Bing and just wanted to say many thanks for the superb read. I would have to agree with it, many thanks once more! Thanks sooooo much for this helpful afrticle. This was the first article that I used for information on licensing. Your website got me excited about this new world of licensing. Awesome advice! Great post about licensing! I too, license my art and love not being tied down production, accounting and shipping activities.

Licensed with IndoBoard. Spread the love. Tags: art licensing , license your art. Sherif Posted at h, 20 May Hello, I was just wondering if its possible to license many designs of the same concept or do companies like variety of different?

Include clear, high-resolution images of your work and mock-ups demonstrating how your artwork looks on relevant products. A company might look at tens of thousands of potential images per year, so yours needs to stand out and communicate the information they are looking for. Every art licensing deal is backed up by an agreement signed by the artist and the licensee, describing the terms of the licensing deal.

It is very important that each party has the same expectations of the arrangement you are making. This not only protects you and your intellectual property, but it is also what gives the licensee a commercial opportunity and therefore a reason to pay you. It is worth having a qualified lawyer take a look at any licensing agreement you are asked to sign. If you are creating your own licensing agreement, it is also worth having your agreement professionally reviewed before signing it.

Advance: A non-refundable payment made to the artist when a license agreement is signed. Exclusive: Some licensees will demand exclusive use of an artwork, meaning you cannot license it to anybody else for the term of the agreement. If you are licensing an artwork to multiple different licensees at the same time, you would need a non-exclusive license agreement.

Perpetual License: A royalty payment is made once upfront, after which the licensee can use your artwork in perpetuity. Limited License to Use: This is where you stipulate any limitations of the use of your artwork. Scope: What does the license agreement cover? Typically this refers to field of use, geography, time and exclusivity rights. Time: Some licenses carry an expiration date or clearly defined time period at which the license ends or can be renewed.

How you define time can affect how you chose to price your license annual renewal fee or ongoing? It can be sensible to limit the scope of your warranty to copyright protections you have already granted, as these are most enforceable. Indemnification: This is the promise that if you break any of your representations and warranties that you will cover the costs to cover any damages. Limitations on Liability: The limit you will be required to pay as a licensor in the event any claim is made on your warranties.

Typically you will cap this at the value of the license agreement, though licensees will ask for more. Most favored Nations: One to avoid if possible. This means that if you ever offer a new licensee better terms you must go back and then offer those same terms to your other licensees.

Jurisdiction and Venue: This determines the legal jurisdiction your license agreement is written under, and therefore would be disputed under in the case of a legal battle.

Attorney Fees: If you do find yourself in a legal dispute, this determines who will pay the legal fees. Trade shows have been a regular part of the art licensing calendar for years.

Trade shows are an opportunity to meet industry decision-makers, agents, exhibit your work and stay ahead of trends. Print-on-demand websites are the easiest place to get started if you want to see your artwork on a range of products. Websites such as Printful or Printify allow you to upload your artwork as a digital file and put it on a whole range of products from homeware to clothing. There are four primary ways:. Manufacturers often choose licensing for the following reasons:.

When all is said and done, art licensing is a business; and as such, has to be managed as a business, with all of its nuances and specifics. One of these nuances is in the legal nature of the engagement. Art licensing is conducted through legal contracts between the manufacturer Licensee and the artist Licensor.

Artists can and should do their own marketing, and can choose to work directly with licensees; or, they may choose to engage the services of an art licensing agent to manage that side of the business.

There are so many factors that go into art licensing, including, but not limited to. How much art does an artist need to create for consideration for licensing? How well your art will fit the market, the product, the manufacturers needs, etc. Are you relevant and relatable to the consumer?

Technically, you could wait until the pieces have been selected for a licensing deal, but the copyright registration process in the US often takes 6 or 8 months. So that way is a bit of a gamble. It could take the same amount of time to negotiate the contract, but the negotiations may be done beforehand which could delay the contract or even put the deal in jeopardy. Here are my three favorite ways:. Look for artists with a similar target market to your art. Their art may look nothing like yours, which is ok.

When you find those artists, flip through their website and see if they talk about companies they license with. You can also search for the artist on Google to find products their art is on and sleuth around to discover who manufactured the products.

For example, when I searched for "snowboard manufacturer", the first page of results had a few lists of popular snowboard brands and manufacturers and also had Mervin, a popular eco-friendly board manufacturer, in the results too. You may have to play around with search terms a little, but you can find manufacturers fairly quickly using this technique and then look around their website or call them for instructions on submitting your art for consideration for their products.

By far my favorite way to find manufacturers is to go shopping.