invoice for a client

[flaviano]

hi all, i need an help
i did some illustration for a canadian client. he ask me for a sort of invoice or piece of paper were he can read that the copyright of my work is exclusively his property.
here in Italy i do an invoice with the price but is taken for granted that the rights are client property.
what i have to write?

thanks

[jhamlet]

I'm not a lawyer (nor a particularly astute businessman, my better half would say), but I believe all you have to do is indicate that you are turning over all rights, foreign and domestic (or some such verbage) for such-and-such a price. Having a copy of the artwork in question would probably be recommended.

On another note, and my two-cents worth: What the hell are you doing signing away all rights as a given? You should be offering one set of rights, and if the client wants to have all -- you charge them for it.

[flaviano]

that's very interesting, i'm doing a series of humor strip for a bank monthly bulletin, do you think i have to charge more to release the whole rights?

thanks

[jhamlet]

I wouldn't necessarily charge more for the whole rights. I would just limit their rights to that one use. Something to the effect of "for single reproduction in the Bank Monthly Bulleting of April, 2009 -- additional usage and rights remain those of the copyright owner", or something.

Wouldn't hurt to do a little yahoo-ing and look up usage rights and illustration, or something like that. Would do it myself (this is a reminder to me...) but I'm not at that point yet and have many other things to do.

Just don't want you to end up like the Gerber Baby or the Nike Swoop.

:-j

[Zimmerman]

Interesting. In the web world all work is the property of the client. Copies of all files are delivered to the client upon completion. Then if you want to use it in your portfolio, you need written permission from the client.

You might want to review photography rights management as a reference. You should spell out how the customer can use it and how much it will cost based on the amount of usage.

If this is something you think can go big, it's best to get a lawyer involve to cover your rump. Good luck.

[jhamlet]

Zimmerman, that sounds like 'work-for-hire'. It's not default for the web world. It just may seem that way since anyone can get access to it.

Anyhoo, I agree, get a lawyer if you think it's worth your time and money. Hire someone that does that stuff best.

Any legally minded folks available to comment?

[faroukbaaaaa]

do you think i have to charge more to release the whole rights?

It is called a 'buy out fee' as i understand and is usually an additional 50%
of the whole price. Otherwise the rights remain with you and you can do
what you want with the illustration... for example, sell it again for someone
else to use and on and on.

In certain circumstances you can release the rights for a set period then they are
returned to you ..... I am not overly sure how that works though