That's mine! Copyright and intellectual property
You spend months by the drafting table, thinking about the perfect colors and proportions, and there it is: the ideal design. Full of pride, you present the work to your client, and that's the end of it. Or is it? A few months later, you find out that your logo is used for all the client's events, while you made it for only one occasion. Who has the rights to the work you created – and the work they paid for? Alumni Tim Bongaerts and Lars Meijer dove into the world of copyright with only one goal in mind: moving your entrepreneurship forward with practical tips.
You've probably never heard of the name Harvey Ball, but odds are pretty good that you're familiar with his work. The American designer invented the smiley for an insurance company that hoped to increase the job satisfaction of employees. Ball sold the happy face in the 1960s for – brace yourself – a mere $45. Adjusting for inflation, that's about €300 today. Not a lot, when you consider that those yellow faces are ubiquitous in our society. The market value of The Smiley Company is many millions of dollars, while Ball never got to enjoy the profits of his invention. This never bothered him much, he says: "I can only eat one steak at a time, drive one car at a time." That's a nice sentiment, but it doesn't mean you have to accept the same fate. How can you keep control of your intellectual property?
As an independent artist, you're going to have to deal with intellectual property rights sooner or later. The basics are quite simple: if you've made a work, it's protected by law. These intellectual property rights apply to anything produced in literature, science or the arts, from an oil painting to a doodle in your notebook. The only condition is originality. Of course, we can debate endlessly about that notion, but that is the fundamental logic behind copyright. It's worth reading up on, because if you don't know your rights, you risk someone else running off with your work. The poet Elianne van Elderen says that it's quite common that lines from her poems are plagiarized on the internet:
"I don't recall the first time my work got copied, since I started on Tumblr. I quickly learned to be on my guard where plagiarism is concerned. The most important thing I can tell you is: don't be afraid to address someone directly. In my experience, most people are quite aware that they're doing something bad. I've only had one negative experience with a company. They constantly post work by other artists without crediting them. After I said something about this online, we got into a difficult conversation. A year later, still no credits for my work. That's very frustrating."
It can be hard to figure out the legal side of copyright, so we searched the internet and talked to Elianne to collect some practical tips and tricks for you. With this knowledge in mind, you'll be on firmer footing if someone happens to copy your work.
Take steps yourself first.
It may be a strange tip, but you have to take the initiative to take action against the other party. Try to find a solution together. If you're not getting anywhere, you can take further steps, for example by filing a (small claims) lawsuit. But as Elianne said: you can usually count on people's cooperation.
Black on white.
Copyright can only be transferred through a written agreement. This agreement can also specify what part of your rights is given to another party. For example, a writer can choose to allow a publisher to print a book, while keeping the movie rights.
Make your own rules
It's possible to allow someone to use your work in a certain way without surrendering your copyright: this is called a license. You get to decide the parameters of this license in terms of how, when and where your work is used.
Divide and conquer.
You can offer a license to multiple parties, for example, different radio stations that can play the same music. Such agreements can be made verbally and are legally called a non-exclusive license.
After transferring copyright.
Even when you transfer copyright to another party, such as allowing a publisher to print your book, you still have authorial rights. For example, the publisher can't publish your work without your name on it, or change the contents of your book without your permission.
Nobody gets to copy or use your work without consent. So it's very important that you're aware of your rights, so that you can assert them with the other people you may deal with in the creative industry. It can be difficult to take that step and talk to somebody about copyright. But remember it's about your work, and ultimately, you get to decide what happens to it. Good luck!
You can also find information about Copyrights on the website of the ArtEZ Library. Based on the questions that students and teachers submit, the Library will continue to expand the online information.