The commission is probably the easiest and most common document out there that a lot of artists use. It’s a simple document with a sole purpose, drawing something requested, but ultimately you still own the rights to your “derivative work”. When I started taking commissions, I unfortunately made the mistake of resigning my rights due to a lack of knowledge and expertise.

A commission is when the client asks the artist to create an original or derivative work (it is a work based on or derived from one or more existing works; common derivative works include translations musical arrangements film versions of literary material or plays reproductions of art summaries and condensations of pre-existing works).

Ownership Of The Derivative Works

The only 2 differences that commissions have against Work For Hire is that in Commission the artist retains the copyright while the client can only use the work or pieces for personal use; However, there are three important factors on how the client can have the rights of the work(s) transferred by the artist:

• The artist may resign the rights of the derivative work at his or her discretion.
• The client can request the artist to issue a “License of Use” so that the derivative work can be commercialized (temporarily or permanently) by the client.
• The artist can assign the rights to the derivative work and sell it to the client as a Work For Hire, (its value should be sold double or triple since the artist is no longer the owner of the work).

Mandatory Commission Clauses

These clauses do not work under Work For Hire since these create conflicts due to contradictions in protocols and terminologies. On the other hand, most of the clauses used on WFH can be used in the Commission document.

Right And License

If the client wants to commercialize the work, they must ask the artist for a “license of use” and pay a percentage of the products sold (royalties). These licenses can be permanent as well as temporary, they can also involve third parties.

Ownership Of The Work

The artist will maintain the intellectual property and copyright of said work, regardless of the amount the client paid. Any preliminary work or pieces that were never chosen as deliverables would remain the property of the artist, although the client can pay for said pieces for personal or commercial use.

Credits

The artist will be credited every time his or her work is used or displayed, the client can give credit using the title of the work and the legal name or pseudonym of the artist.

Did you read The Importance Of Creating A Contract Part 1 and Part 2? Don’t forget to bookmark the other post about how to build contracts for Work For Hire, Commission, Licensing of Use and Estimate, Invoice, and Receipt. If you love to try my contracts, click the link below, they have everything you need with ready, editable templates and free updates via emails.

NOTE: I want to emphasize that this post is for educational purposes, legal information is not the same as legal advice. Therefore, it is recommended that you consult with a lawyer to obtain more professional guidance in the legal field.

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