Legal Question in Intellectual Property in California

Work for hire agreement: getting it signed by the artist & question re. credits

We are drafting a work-for-hire agreement for an independent contractor in US, California. We want to preserve all the IP rights for the illustrations created. Two questions:

Will artists sign work-for-hire agreement if they are not working on-site? My research shows that artists generally do not like to sign these agreements.

We have no way to specify credits to the authors and we want to state this in a work-for hire agreement. Is complying with the credit line mandatory? How would you suggest us to handle this?

Is there anything specific that we need to include into contracts with illustrators?

If the answer will be different for other states please let me know. Thanks!


Asked on 7/10/14, 1:50 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jim Betinol Withrow and Betinol Law

There is no way to determine whether an artist will sign an agreement or not, it all depends on if the deal terms is agreeable to the other party. Work-for-Hire agreements do require important provisions to protect the person/company having the work commissioned. I would recommend that you counsel with an attorney to review and draft your agreement. If you are unable to find an attorney in your area, please feel free to contact our firm.

Best,

Jim Betinol

([email protected])

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Answered on 7/16/14, 1:16 pm


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