CONTRACT & COPYRIGHT TERMINOLOGY LIST 2020
Please note: This document is © Kathryn Adams. Said material
is for the individual use of students within the context of their
own work. Do not post it online, republish it, sell it or use for
any other purpose, in whole or in part, without written
permission from Kathryn Adams.
1.) Copyright: Authorship/ownership of a creative work (such as
an image) with the exclusive right to reproduce, publish and sell
that work.
2.) Authorship: recognition as the creator of the image.
3.) Ownership: artist's, or client's, control over rights to
reproduce/publish/sell the image.
4.) Licensing: Selling (effectively "renting") an image for a
specific use and period of time.
5.) Contract (also called a Letter of Agreement): A verbal or
written agreement that establishes a meeting of the minds and
mutual consent between two parties.
6.) First Rights: The right to be the first user of an image for a
specific,
limited, one-time use.
7.) Second Rights: The right to use an image that has been
used elsewhere already. The extent of the re-use depends on
the individual agreement specifics.
8.) Residual rights: Rights that the client hasn't paid for, which
remain the artist's rights. (Be careful not to sign these away in a
contract unless it is an All Rights agreement)
9.) Derivative: A new work that includes elements of a pre-
existing
copyrighted work. (Derivatives made without permission from the
original artist are copyright infringements, a.k.a unlicensed
derivatives.)
10.) Derivative rights: The right to create work that is
recognizably based on an existing, copyrighted work. (If signed
over to client, derivative rights allow them to make slight
modifications to your images and claim copyright to the modified
versions.)
11.) Non-exclusive Use: Allows the artist to license their
residual rights to other clients. (**Be careful. Sometimes the
client, as well as the artist, has the right to re-use or re-sell the image,
depending on the wording of the contract.)
12.) Sub-licensing rights: The right of the publisher to sell any
of the rights granted to them, to third parties. (The artist
receives little, or no additional payment.)
13.) All Rights {also commonly called a Buyout}: Purchase of
all rights of usage {ownership} for the full extent of copyright
(essentially “permanently” for the artist). However, the illustrator
retains credit
as creator of the work {authorship}. (These rights are typically
requested by advertising clients who wish to keep all use to
themselves.)
14.) Limited Buyout: Restricts the buyout to customized
specific limitations. {for ex: media or market or territory. A useful
compromise for clients who don't need, or can't afford, a full buyout.
Artist and client can negotiate what form the limitations take.}
15.) Stock: Previously published images that are available for
resale use.
16.) Work For Hire: Work that the client keeps both the
ownership
AND authorship of. Artist is NOT legally credited as the
creator. (This is ONLY reasonable when an employee of a company,
not for freelance work. This is a term used in American Copyright
Law, not Canadian.)
17.) Clip Art {Royalty-free, Rights-free}: Public domain line art
made for royalty-free re-use. (Illustrators should avoid creating
these images because this type of work severely lowers the value of
commissioned work.)
18.) Public Domain: Work that has no copyright claims and can
be used freely.
19.) Electronic Rights {All Media Rights}: Using a copyrighted
image in digital formats such as the web, CDs and databases.
20.) Moral Rights: Rights that protect both the integrity of
creators and the integrity of their work.
21.) No-Assertion-of-Rights Clause: A clause specifying that
only the rights itemized in the contract can be used by the
client.
22.) Right of Celebrity: The right of a person to maintain
control over their name or image for trade or advertising. Such
use requires their written permission. (For an editorial
{newsworthy} publication such as a newspaper, you do not need
permission to use a person's name or image.)
23.) Blanket Contract: A one-time contract kept on file to cover
all future assignments. (These are a bad idea for freelance work as
each individual project should have a specific, customized contract.)
24.) In Perpetuity: Forever.
25.) Speculative Work {a.k.a. working "On Spec"}: Unpaid work
done in
hopes of payment. (Completely avoid this type of work.)
26.) Crowd-Sourcing: Doing work for free, (typically for a
“contest” to design a logo or some other type of work that should be
professionally paid work) in the hope of of winning a “prize,
“exposure” or a “portfolio piece”.
Avoid these scams.
27.) Waive: Refrain from enforcing a legal right or claim.
(Essentially
giving up your legal rights. Wave them goodbye).
28.) Not Yet Invented: Media that does not exist yet. (It is
FICTIONAL!
A term relating to extended media rights grabs.)
29.) Retroactive: A clause or circumstance that goes backwards
in time.
30.) Breach of Contract: Violating or breaking the terms of a
contract.
31.) Infringement: Violation of another person's copyright.
32.) Confidentiality Clause/Agreement: An agreement to protect
marketplace secrecy. (Also known as an NDA {non-disclosure
agreement})
33.) Fair Use: Very specific, limited use of an artist's work
without payment. (for uses such as educational use within one
classroom or news reporting a review of a specific artist's work).
34.) Trade Dress: Part of trademark law, NOT copyright law,
that protects an established "look" for a product (such as a Prada
handbag. An artist cannot copyright an illustrative "style".)
35.) Independent Contractor: A self-employed person.
