Friend Draws The Artwork And Gives It To Me To Do Whatever Is It Copyrighted

[redcell7]

i I have some skill as a illustrator but compared to my friend i dont hold a candle to him ,his skillset is at a level u r just born with . He knows im into leather so if i want something specific ,he draws it and i carve it .....now if i go to sell a piece , what kind of problems will i have ????....he has no problem signing anything that would give me the rights to that image ( if even possible) not really sure were to go on this . i want to protect myself, and friends dont always stay your friend......i know i should do all my work myself , wich is fine .....but i always like to use the best tools at my disposal....and if i can get a better quality image and work it out with the illustator, were its a win, win and hes happy and im happy and the end result the customer is extremly happy....for me thats what it is all about .....any comments????

[dirtclod]

Make something your friend wants for the drawing he does for you.

[cem]

I would get a contract written up as like you said things can go pear shaped in situations like this where items are going to be sold, he can transfer his copyright of any drawing he has done to you. Even if it's not a requirement where you are to get it written down I would still suggest doing it so both parties know fully where they stand.

If he doesn't want to give up his full copyright you can have a licence agreement written up in that he gives you permission to use his artwork for example leather carving and nothing else. He would probably be fine if you only sell a few things but if you do start selling a lot of things with the same design that might be where he feels he should be compensated properly for his artwork. and it's easier to have an agreement in place from the beginning rather than when problems occur.

If you do a search on copyright / licensing agreements you should get some examples of how to get one drawn up, make sure it's specifically for your country though. Also have a look at your gov's main copyright site they may have some examples already there and you should be able to get more specific information on how to go about it.

[redcell7]

thanks people