Copyright
Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to you, the creator of an original work
Copyright includes the right for you to copy, distribute and adapt your work. So when you create an image or an artwork then copyright automatically exists in that work and it belongs to you.
If you are lucky enough to sell your original image or artwork then the new owner does not automatically own the right to reproduce that work, only you the creator of that work has that right. Many self publishing artists and photographers, who have sold their original artwork, can still continue to generate revenue from their work in the form of fine art prints made from high quality digital files.
Copyright or Licence
So how do you prove that you own the copyright to a particular image or artwork? Well the easiest way is to create a high quality digital file and catalogue it, you need to keep records showing the titles and dates of the work and ensure that these records are safely stored on your computer and are easily accessible.
Nowadays, artwork is often recorded in the form of high quality digital files and the British Association of Picture Libraries (www.bapla.org) advises artists to store their work at a minimum size of 48 megabytes, which is standard for commercial images across the licensing industry. Images should always be stored as RGB files.
You can of course sell the copyright to someone else, but bear in mind that once you have sold a copyright you have no control over how that image is used. More usually you would retain the copyright and sell a licence for the use of your work. A licence is a right for someone else to reproduce your work in a particular way and for a limited period. An example of a licence would be a greeting card publisher expressing an interest in licensing your work and agreeing a one off fee to use your image for a set period of time.
Once you have sold the licence to an original image, you can continue printing open edition digital fine art prints and publishing them yourself as well as selling further reproduction rights in the form of more licences. But the Fine Art Trade Guild Print Standards clearly states that images reproduced as limited edition digital fine art prints will not be reproduced in any other form - "No part or whole of a print published as limited edition should be reproduced in any other form anywhere in the world, except for the sole purpose of promotion, eg in a brochure, sales literature or in a book".
Copyright Infringement
Remember that you own the copyright to your work from the moment it is created and it is probably very unlikely that anyone is going to make copies of your work and for this reason it is not worth the expense of companies that specilaise in offering copyright protection.
Of course there may be a need for the help of a solicitor if you find someone has copied your work and then goes on to sell copies of your work. But if you have followed the advice of cataloguing your work, which records the work and the date it was created, then you will have the proof required to pursue any legal action required.
For more information or advice on Giclee Printing call Tim Sale or Adrian Chambers on 0117 952 0105 or use the contact form to tell us your requirements, we can suggest the most appropriate solution for your fine art printing needs.
