For an artist or graphic designer there’s absolutely nothing a lot more rewarding than seeing your art on actual item out in the retail environment. I’ve been designing and creating art and products for licensing for fairly a while now and it’s still like Christmas every time I obtain item samples for approval. I can’t tell you how considerably I enjoy opening boxes filled with different product samples that I have designed and produced. Perhaps you already know this feeling or possibly you are just starting to venture out into the world of artwork licensing. I hope so! If you are just starting out then you should check out Surtex National Stationery and Gift Show in New York. This show is one of the very best methods to show your work to men and women actively seeking new talent.

Artwork Licensing can be an incredibly rewarding and profitable venture. There are many positive aspects to licensing your artwork. The obvious rewards are that you retain ownership and copyrights to your creations even though other individuals market and distribute your creative works for sales. This permits you to gain passive income via royalty payments, generally payed quarterly, and the ability to use that very same art in new methods for future profit.

As enjoyable and exciting as Art Licensing is, there are some issues you need to know before entering into any contractual agreement. 1st of all, there is a lot that you won’t know in the beginning of your licensing career and a ton that you will understand along the way, but you really should have a great understanding of what the terms of your agreement will be just before signing anything. If you are presented with a licensing contract – review it and recognize that you are the one licensing the art and you have the power to negotiate your terms. Also, it is constantly a good notion to have your own copyright attorney review the contract.

Before we talk about this topic further let’s get familiar with a couple of terms, that is if you are not already familiar with them.

1. Licensor – You!
2. Licensee – the firm you are licensing artwork to.
three. Royalty – The percentage you will be payed on the sales of your art.
four. Net Sales Price – the cost for which the Licensee sells the Licensed Products
five. Licensed Style – shall mean those designs owned by Licensor and incorporated into 1 or a lot more Licensed Merchandise
6. Sell-off-period – A period of time employed by the Licensee to clear out licensed product. This typically takes location at the end of a contract when the licensee requirements to dispose of all of its existing inventory of Licensed Merchandise on hand. Throughout the Sell-off Period, no royalties shall be payable to Licensor for the sale of Licensed Items that need to be liquidated (sold at or below price).

Every licensing contract can vary in detail, nevertheless, there are some key points that ought to by no means change. Your licensing contract really should clearly state that the licensed artwork is yours and that you retain the rights to the artwork being licensed. You ought to specify that the “licensee” (the business you are licensing your artwork to) does not have the correct to sublicense your art to other companies without your written approval. Also, under no circumstances is the licensee entitled to any ownership rights to your original art nor do they gain any copyrights to any piece of your art. In truth, you need to specify your own copyright line to be used on every single item that the licensee produces. Would read something like

© YOUR Company NAME HERE  All Rights Reserved
Licensed by (Licensee’s Organization Name Here)

You will most likely find that most negotiation comes into play when determining your royalty percentage. Here are a few widespread ranges of royalty rates in the giftware business that may aid guide you in determining an suitable royalty percentage.

* Greeting cards and gift wrap: 2% to 5%
* Household items such as cups, sheets, towels: three% to 8%
* Fabrics, apparel (T-shirts, caps, decals): 2% to 10%
* Posters and prints: 10% or a lot more
* Toys and dolls: 3% to 8%

As I previously mentioned this is a scale of acceptable industry standards. In my own encounter, I have discovered 5% to be a quite regular and acceptable rate for most items. Nonetheless, for some stationery items like gift cards and gift wraps 2% is the acceptable standard. If you are just establishing yourself as a licensing artist it would almost certainly be wise to aim for the 4-5% as opposed to the 10%.  In this part of your contract you can expect to see a line stating that no royalties shall be payable to Licensor for the “closeout” sale of Licensed Goods that have been deleted from Licensee’s line of merchandise. The licensee will practically definitely consist of this statement in your contract, nevertheless, one factor that you should stipulate directly after that line is that the Licensor should be notified in writing prior to the “closeout” of a line or items and that any licensed goods sold during the “sell-off-period” that are non-liquidation orders are subject to royalties. Yes, a business will liquidate it is merchandise and item lines to clear out inventory, but not all sales produced throughout the sell-off-period are liquidation sales which you really should be paid a royalty for.

Maintain your licensing arrangements clear, concise and easy. You might get guidance from people to get an advance against royalties or negotiate a 1 time licensing fee. These are not  common practices for men and women just acquiring into licensing. An advance against royalties is specifically what the term states – an advance payment on future royalties on a licensed function. My personal belief is that it is much better to negotiate terms with a fair percentage that works for you. Then make certain to stay away from unnecessary deductions such as sales commissions, undefined “fees”, or any advertising, promotional and advertising expenses that the licensee engages in. Some deductions are acceptable, for instance deductions made just before the royalty is calculated for taxes, credits, and quantity discounts.

I genuinely enjoy art, graphic design, and the rewarding feeling you get from seeing your art out in the marketplace location. I would like to see a lot more artists reaching out to the public with their creative works. It takes time to develop a productive licensing career. The key is constantly play to your strengths. Stand apart by doing what you do nicely and not replicating other people. When it comes time for you to enter into a licensing arrangement – I hope that you have found this write-up beneficial. I would also like to supply a template for a regular contract concerning the licensing of artwork as a resource to assist give you a heads up on how to safeguard your “assets”. This licensing contract template, set up for a standard five% royalty.

You can find this template at:
http://www.pixelproductionsinc.com/news.php
or
http://pixelproductionsinc.com/blog

Please note: This contract is intended to be employed as a reference to help artists searching to establish licensing agreements for their artwork. Any legally binding agreement that you enter into really should be reviewed by you and your attorney prior to enacting said agreement. This material is a reference for you, but we are not responsible for any legal agreement you enter into.

Copyright Licensing