WORK FOR HIRE AGREEMENTS:
A word about "Work for hire agreements" These agreements often only benefit the buyer, (being the printer). An artist (willing to sign) should do so with proper compensation and an understanding of what is happening to the rights/ownership.
For example, A copyright transfer (either partial or full and complete), is only good for 35 years. Once the 35 years is up, the artist can re-negotiate the art rights or retract all rights. A "work for hire" contract agreement takes away that option and transfers the authenticity as if the buyer were the creator.
In addition, is the loss of future financial gains. Once agreeing to a work for hire, the artist can only make money on the art (at that one time of sale). For a (transfer of full and complete rights), most artist will take the fair market value and times that by three as a standard practice.
If I create art, I can re-sell that art multiple times over and it can be printed on any product however I want to sell it. If someone wants a tee shirt illustration of a Bass and I charge $200.00 as long as I still own the right and have not signed a "work for hire" contract, I can then sell the print rights of that bass to a calendar company, a coffee mug Co, a sticker Co. etc. Each time I sell it's use, I am earning residual income from my creation. This is good business.
This is similar to a screen printer who has an employee create him/her artwork for their screen print company and you (as the Co owner) use that same art time and time again for various customers to print tee shirts and anything else you can sell your customer. You, (the print shop owner) would be similar to the artist. Your customer (end user) would be similar to you buying art from a freelance artist.
Some times, we are faced as screen print shop owners are faced with a customer wanting the art they paid for, as in art charges). They do not own the art, they paid an art service fee. Not an ownership fee. Often times, a printer will provide an art disk at an additional fee. This is similar to an artist charging extra for full and complete rights or for signing a "wok for hire" agreement. Some think because they pay a fee for art creation, that they own it. They do not. As this thread outlines, you need a contract agreement stating who owns what (if you want to have control of that art.
This makes the art far more valuable than just a flat $200.00 transfer under work for hire. It may be worth $200.00 with no rights sold to you (the printer) and if all rights are transferred, it should be worth at a minimum, three times that for loss of future monies. To me, if you want me to sign a WORK FOR HIRE agreement, I would want 5X it's fair market value. If you my high dollar art (for low money), you should be fine with no "work for hire" agreement. You can always take advantage of the naive beginner "starving artist" who do not know their rights or a 3rd world artist where your 100.00 is worth 3 times that anyways.
