07 November 2019
While taking a Sunday morning stroll around their local market looking for knick-knacks for their new home, Collette and Arni notice a stall doing a roaring trade in tote bags bearing colourful printed designs. The designs are so striking that Collette immediately recognises them as her own works which have been used on the bags without her consent.
She asks the stall owner where he got the bags from and he happily explains that he made them himself using a reproduction of a photograph he found on the internet.
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Collette becomes anxious again… She is concerned as she did not agree to this use, is not being credited as the artist behind the design and is not receiving any of the profits. She consults Lynn Richmond of BTO’s BeCreative team about her options.
Lynn explains to Collette that she owns the copyright in her own paintings and that the works should not be reproduced or used on the bags without Collette’s consent. Lynn advises Collette that she could sue the stall holder for copyright infringement to stop him using the images and to receive damages.
Lynn also explains that if Collette is willing to commercialise her work, then she could licence her work to the stall holder and agree to take a percentage of the profits. Collette is keen to bring her work to a wider audience and instructs Lynn to draft a licence to send to the stall holder. Negotiations take place and the stall holder, who does not wish to become involved in any sort of litigation, agrees to the terms of the licence, securing another income stream for Collette and Arni who are saving for their wedding.
Contact: Lynn Richmond, Partner
E: lyr@bto.co.uk / T: 0131 222 2939 or visit www.btobecreative.co.uk
