There is this misconception that once the clients pay for their commission, you should no longer care what they do with your artwork in the future. It’s not your business anymore, since they are not borrowing or renting your art. But what if I told you that those commissions, by default, you indeed own them as the sole creator?

Did You Know?

According to the United States Copyright Office, if the work is not explicitly stated as a “Work For Hire” (besides complying with other requirements), then, by default, the artist is recognized as the copyright owner of the derivative work.

What Happens If Clients Does Whatever They Want?

If someone requests a commission and after the payment the artwork gets modified to the point of being unrecognizable visually, without your consent or crediting you properly, then is going to happen one of 2 things:

• The modified commission without your credit will confuse the audience and think the client is the author.
• Or, the modified commission, with your proper credit but without consent, will paint you in a different light because the design doesn’t match your work.

This can create a judgment on your creative skills and people may question your business tactics. This is why it is recommended to be careful when doing business, pay attention at all times, and use the correct contracts with the proper labels and clauses with specific rules and penalties. These help avoid any misunderstanding and controversy.

Quality control is a legitimate negotiation point that affects the artist’s reputation and income… Without a contractual restriction, the art could be altered to the point where it no longer resembles the original piece enough and thus would not constitute an infringement.

Graphic Artist Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 14 Edition

However…

Just because by default the commission belongs to the artist, doesn’t mean it’s an obligation. Each artist deals with their businesses on their terms, and if they decide that they will no longer care about what their clients do with their work after payment, that’s their decision. They possess the right to transfer any rights to the clients at any moment. There are three important factors for this to happen:

1. The artist may resign the rights of the derivative work at his or her discretion and transfer them to the client.
2. 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.
3. 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).

Now the same applies when the artist has the right to penalize and/or charge a commercial fee to the infringed artwork, either by unauthorized manipulation or illegal profit, to the client according to their contract and terms and conditions.

Conclusion

Most freelancers do care how their works are used and if they are taken care of properly by the client. Additionally, if the client desires to make a profit with the derivative works, the artist does charge a “commercial fee” that helps compensate them properly and live comfortably. Even if the concept doesn’t belong to you or the client paid a certain amount of money, it doesn’t mean you should stop caring what they do afterward with your work. There is so much risk involved if you don’t learn to establish boundaries and consequences. Especially if your work gets affected or influenced in the market value or your reputation gets damaged down the road due to unauthorized use, inappropriate modifications, or illegal profit by the client. Now, if it’s a Work For Hire, that’s a different story.

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