by Mark Monlux, markmonlux.com
Dear Mark,
As a budding artist, I'd like to know something about behind-the-scene protocol. I have only one question:Do you have to request permission or otherwise contract with persons or corporations, (like Star Trek), before rendering caricatures of them and selling them? (the reason I ask is because I would like to sell caricatures on t-shirts of famous and fictional people and am ignorant of copyright law regarding caricatures. I cannot seem to find an answer.)
Thank you so much,
T-shirt Trekkie
.
_________________________________________________________________
.
Dear
T-shirt Trekkie
,
The
short answer is, yes, you
need to get permission.
I
think your question requires
clarification in two sections.
One is on copyright and the
other is on Right of Privacy:
COPYRIGHT
To answer your question specifically, someone else owns the rights to Star Trek, not you. Copyright law provides the creator, or their heirs, the rights to the work for 90 years (Bono Act). Any creations from those rights are call a derivative, and the rights to that derivative are STILL held by the copyright holder.
For you to create a derivative without permission would be a copyright infringement. Copyright Law is not a behind the scenes protocol. It is the standard way to conduct business. As a professional whose livelihood depends on the negotiation and selling of rights to your work it is crucial that you understand copyright law and use it to your advantage by protecting both your interest and the interests of your client.
RIGHT
OF PRIVACY
The
right of privacy held by everyone
in this country. All citizens
are spared the following kinds
of invasion of privacy:
1. False Light Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy by being placed in a ?false light? in the public eye.2. Intrusion Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy by into some private area of life.3. Disclosure Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy by public disclosure of private facts.4. Misappropriation Invasion of Privacy
Invasion of privacy by the un-permitted commercial use of image or name.
In short, you cannot use the likeness or name of a person, living or (and as is the case in most stated) dead without that person or heir's permission.
But, wait a minute! you might say. What about Freedom of Speech? I see famous folks and not so famous folks faces in the news all the time.
Yes, it is true. This country does hold in high regard Freedom of Speech. But, even the smallest of news outlets are careful and have fully educated themselves in Fair Use, Libel, Privacy Law, Publicity Law, Copyright Law, and a slew of other legal protections covering both them and those they cover in their reporting.
And just as equally legally trained are the businesses who hold in high regard their revenue sources.
NASCAR, Harley Davidson, Paramount, Safeco, The Mariners, The Huskies, Meadowvale Elementary, all of these folks hold the rights to their name and images. In ANY instance in which you desire to create a marketing venture using their names or images you will have to seek out their permission. Suggest you put together a proposal and what you want to do, and then inquire with them directly.
Many have a licensing department completely set up with review processes to handle inquires such as yours and may have already established rate scales for you to consider. Others might handle proposals on a case-by-case basis.
You can learn everything you need to know at the copyright website at www.copyright.gov. And if you need some other reference books (besides the Graphic Artists Guild's Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook) that spell things out to you in layman's language, I suggest the books by Lee Wilson The Advertising Law Guide; The Copyright Guide; and The Trademark Guide.
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