Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Minnesota

original art copyrights

I am wondering who owns the copyrights to original art. I work with a non-profit organization where original art is created and often sold. We are now getting some popularity and want to start using the images to create commercial merchandise such as note-cards/calanders/t-shirts/etc. There is no copyright registration or agreements with buyers. Do the rights to the images stay with us or are they transferred to the buyers? How can we keep the right to use the images for commercial purposes? Can we sell the art without allowing the buyers use it's image for such purposes???


Asked on 5/16/00, 5:23 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Daniel Press Chung & Press, P.C.

Re: original art copyrights

The copyright in an artwork belongs to the creator of the work. If that person is an EMPLOYEE of your organization and the work was created in the scope of the employment (or if there is a written agreement with the actual artist which so provides), the copyright belongs to the organization. Otherwise it belongs to the artist. This is true no matter who owns the actual physical artwork. The owner of the physical work has the right to display the work, but no right to make copies or publish the work. Note that if your org. does not own the copyright, you have no rights to copy or publish the works either.

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Answered on 7/05/00, 10:53 am


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