How do NFTs Impact Artists?

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How do NFTs Impact Artists?

Ever since the digital artist Beeple sold an NFT (non-fungible token) of his work for $69 million dollars, there’s been a ridiculous amount of excitement surrounding NFTs. Some have called it a revolutionary way to buy and sell copyrights while others have called it a fad, a scam, or worse. The truth is, it’s far too early to tell what the true economic or societal impacts of NFTs are, at least until the hype dies down. And I’m far from an expert so I don’t think my input on that front is helpful anyway. I’m more interested in the legal impacts of NFTs which are, presently, unclear.

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You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

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You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

The longer I practice law, the more I recognize certain “seasons” in my work; sometimes I’ll have a period where all my clients are filmmakers. Perhaps six months will go by where all my work revolves around trademarks in some way. Maybe I’ll have ten people in a row ask me about indemnity clauses. Lately many of my clients or prospective clients are visual or graphic artists producing collages. And they all want to know the same thing: can they use the work of others in their collages?

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The Benefits of Copyright Registration

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The Benefits of Copyright Registration

Oftentimes, I get this question from current or prospective clients: “how do I copyright my work?” I usually tell them, “you don’t have to because you (most likely) already own it. Copyright isn’t an act one engages in, it’s a suite of rights, granted under the U.S. Copyright Act, that attached from the moment your work is ‘fixed in a tangible medium of expression.’” That is, the moment your work is recorded somehow - in writing, on paper, on a computer, in audio, video, etc, etc. Among the rights granted to you under copyright law: the right to own, use, exploit, and transfer ownership to the work. Other than creating it, you do not need to engage in any further actions to own it.

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Repost: You Can’t Copyright Style

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Shortly after Star Wars: The Force Awakens came out, something happened that no one could have possibly predicted: people started making fan art. Shocking I know, but in a world where Donald Trump is the leading Republican candidate for President, I’m not sure anything’s a surprise anymore. Anyway, among those artists was Disney and Marvel illustrator Brian Kesinger. But Kesinger wasn’t interested in your run of the mill fan art. He wanted to do something special. The result of his labor: a series of adorable illustrations of Kylo Ren, Han Solo, Leia, and Darth Vader from The Force Awakens done in Bill Watterson’s inimitable style. Kesinger not only nailed the famed Calvin and Hobbes look, he also got Watterson’s voice.

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On Whether You Can Use Someone Else's Copyrighted Work As Reference Material For Your Own

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On Whether You Can Use Someone Else's Copyrighted Work As Reference Material For Your Own

"As part of my (illustration) process, I source and screenshot or drag images of people, places, and things from Google (usually stock photos) which I then combine and trace to create my illustrations. It would be hard for any of these stock photos to be identified outright in my work, as they are mainly used as the skeleton for postures and environments in my drawings. They are transformed by my invention of things like clothes and other details, and by my linework 'style.' What do you think of this? Am I doing anything legally risky?"

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Repost: Yes Trademark Fair Use Exists!

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Repost: Yes Trademark Fair Use Exists!

How you reference an existing brand will dictate whether you become liable for trademark infringement or public disparagement of the brand, but there are carve-outs in trademark law that allow you to fairly reference an existing trademark without being liable for infringement. Yes you heard me right; trademark fair use exists!

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You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

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You Made a Collage, But That Doesn't Give You Rights In the Underlying Work

The longer I practice law, the more I recognize certain “seasons” in my work; sometimes I’ll have a period where all my clients are filmmakers. Perhaps six months will go by where all my work revolves around trademarks in some way. Maybe I’ll have ten people in a row ask me about indemnity clauses. Lately I’ve been in a season where clients are visual or graphic artists producing collages. And they all want to know the same thing: can they use the work of others in their collages?

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Are You an Employee or an Independent Contractor? The Answer May Surprise You

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Are You an Employee or an Independent Contractor? The Answer May Surprise You

Do you know if you’re an employee or an independent contractor? It seems like something you should automatically know when you’re hired, but the question comes up more often than you’d think. The confusion often arises when the terms of hire or the expectations from the employer are ambiguous or *shudder* not written down. And there are real consequences to not knowing whether you’re an employee or a contractor: it can affect whether you are eligible for employee-sponsored insurance, whether your employment is temporary, and for artists, whether or not you own rights in the work you’re hired to create.

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The Work For Hire Doctrine - A Primer For Freelancers

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I've never actually explained the Work For Hire doctrine in any meaningful way. I've only tiptoed around it, and that's just ridiculous when you consider the fact that artists generally aren't independently wealthy and need to work for a living. Since most artists make their living by creating their work on someone else's dime, that means they're relying on the Work For Hire doctrine even when they don't realize it.

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Ask Greg: What's the Difference Between Selling and Licensing Your Work?

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Ask Greg: What's the Difference Between Selling and Licensing Your Work?

Recently I held a webinar on contracts during which I made passing reference to the difference between selling and licensing one's work. Afterwards, one of the attendees emailed me asking "so what actually IS the difference between selling your work and licensing it?" It's one of those questions that on the surface feels like it should have an obvious answer but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's kind of like home equity or taxes (or really anything to do with money)... it's something that as an adult you vaguely understand, but you're honestly not sure and you've gone too long to admit it.

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