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‘permissions agreement’ from Quarto instead of copyright agreement

June 29, 2016

Subject : 'permissions agreement' from Quarto instead of copyright agreement

Name : SAA

Email : feedback@saahub.com

Agency name : illustration (Alice Ball)

Phone No : 

In Category : Publishing

Client Name / Dept / Location : Quarto

Description of the issue : When quizzed for a licence agreement instead of a copyright agreement for 2 sample artworks for Quarto they said they could produce a specific ‘permissions agreement’ instead, which their picture researchers use when buying existing artwork in to use in books from stock galleries or owners of the artwork.

Description of the result : This ‘permissions agreement’ is a licence agreement for the use only and the artist retains the moral rights to the work.

Download Contract File

Usborne Contract challenge

March 10, 2016

Subject : Usborne Contract challenge

Name : SAA

Email : feedback@saahub.com

Agency name : illustration ltd (Juliette Lott)

Phone No : 

In Category : Publishing

Client Name / Dept / Location : Usborne

Description of the issue : I recently had issues with the contract that Usborne sent to me. It was for a copyright sign over. This contract was challenged and I was told that this was the only contract that Usborne issues. Fortunately I had sent over our contract for this work which had been signed and sent back to me. The Usborne contract was only sent when the job was half way through.
After significant back and forth they have said that they can issue a licenced contract. This contract is usually only issued when they buy existing artwork from a photographer or artist for use in one book. The money they offer for the individual a/w’s is much less obviously than the fee for commissioned artwork at about a quarter/fifth of the fee in fact. In this instance they have agreed to pay the agreed original fee as the work has already started and was near completion.

Description of the result : Moving forward they would only be able to offer the vastly reduced rate for commissioned licence work or the normal rates if the copyright sign over contract was accepted. This basically means that we could no longer work with Usborne as the fee would be too low to make it viable and we cannot sign over copyright.

Download Contract File

Egmont Publishing/”Holding Copyright” on basis of in-house generated idea

February 9, 2016

Subject : Egmont Publishing/"Holding Copyright" on basis of in-house generated idea

Name : Harry Lyon-Smith

Email : harry@illustrationweb.com

Agency name : Illustration Ltd

Phone No : 020 7720 5202

In Category : Publishing

Client Name / Dept / Location : Egmont Publishing /UK

Description of the issue : Client requesting to "keep the illustration copyright as standard on the basis that the project is an in-house generated idea, with a lot of design work & image research done in house."
Additionally the requested initial sample artwork free of charge.

Description of the result : Advised client that illustrators automatically own copyright in the artwork that they create, so therefore not theirs to retain. Proposed we would be happy to consider Egmont purchasing the copyright. Proposed the illustrator could create a sample artwork for a nominal test fee of £200, which would be deductible against their fee of £700 for front cover & two spreads.
Client responded by saying that their fee of £6500 (for 24 spreads) included the copyright purchase & that they did not have the budget for the sample artwork.
We declined the project on the basis that the fee was not enough to cover the purchase of copyright & lack of fee available for sample.

Download Contract File

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