Licensing Artwork

Exhibiting, promotion, marketing, printing, scanning, invoicing... Post our own experiences or find solutions here. Amateur or professional, we all need help.
Post Reply
MBfineart
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:10 pm

Licensing Artwork

Post by MBfineart »

Hello all,

Mike, you gave me some advise on this a few years ago, but i can't find the details and i thought it would be a good topic to bring up in case anyone else has this query in future. I have been asked by someone in the US if they can use my Goat drawing as a logo for their Goats milk home-made soaps and lotions. The company doesn't sell online, they at present sell at Markets and wish to use my drawing as a logo on their bags and stickers.

A one-off flat fee seems to be the sensible option, but how much to charge? I'm presuming this would be less than a commission, as they're not paying for an original drawing. Then there's the question of putting a time limit on the licence, and if so, do they buy the licence again or just renew for free?

They seem like a genuine small business, and I don’t want to put them off by making it over complicated or expensive. I want to be fair to them, but also to myself and make a sensible decision! :?

Thanks in advance,
Marie

User avatar
Mike Sibley
Site Admin
Posts: 981
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:32 pm
Location: York, UK
Contact:

Re: Licensing Artwork

Post by Mike Sibley »

This is annoying me, because I appear to have lost all the old posts on the subject. I saved everything from Artpapa when it closed and reposted them into TheDrawingForum that I ran with JD Hillbury. I was the designer and webmaster, so I MUST have all the data somewhere... :oops: So, I've spent an hour looking for it, when it was probably quicker to rewrite it. :roll:

I'll keep it specific to your query - logo use, rather than product use (such as T-shirts).

First: TERMINATION
You could have a licence agreement that has a start and end date or a start date and no end date, but I really would NOT recommend that. Either way, you should be specific about what the licence entitles them to do with your art. So, in your case, "Logo on bags, stickers, and promotional use as a logo. Not for resale as an image".

You NEED that end date. Imagine they become the Amazon of the Goat Cheese world... Your image is now world-famous... for which you received £50, £500, or whatever. I'm reminded of the NIKE logo story. ;)

If you put, say, a 5-year end date, they have to renew. You might or might not charge again at that time. I suggest you do. If the situation demands it, you can charge more - or decline renewal, which is your prerogative and bargaining chip.

I'll just add here that if you were licensing your image to place on a product for royalties, that product will probably decrease in sales over the years. Without an end date, you will not be able to easily offer that image to another company for the same use.

EXCLUSIVITY:
Exclusive use needs to be priced at a considerably higher price than non-exclusive. Non-exclusive means they can use your image for their logo, but you can continue to market it as a print AND you can licence others to use it for different purposes- not as a logo (you could, but not ethically). Exclusive gives them world-wide rights to use your logo, and no other business will have ANY use of it.

PRICE:
That's not for me to recommend. If the business is small, I prefer to charge a nominal fee. That also makes charging a renewal fee more welcome to both parties. You could argue that you're saving them the cost of having a custom logo designed, but I don't think that's viable.

If it's any help, the last time I licenced an image, it was for the labels on dog food packaging in Japan. I charged £150, and that was through a New Zealand agency that also had licenced others of my images.

If it helps, you can download a copy of my LICENSING AGREEMENT here:
LICENSING-AGREEMENT-1

Alter it to suit your situation, but try to not alter the language, or you might harm its legal meaning.

This is the licence I use, but I make no claims, nor accept any responsibility, regarding its legal standing.

I hope that helps.
Mike Sibley
WEBSITE: Sibleyfineart.com
BOOKS : Drawing From Line to Life
VIDEOS : DrawWithMike.net

User avatar
Mike Sibley
Site Admin
Posts: 981
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:32 pm
Location: York, UK
Contact:

Re: Licensing Artwork

Post by Mike Sibley »

When you receive enquiries for use of your work, this might help. It's my standard copy-and-paste answer (suitably modified, of course).

You can download from here: COMMERCIAL-ENQUIRY

or just copy this:
**********************************
Dear

We license commercial use of the head studies in Exclusive and Non-exclusive forms. Worldwide Exclusive licences currently cost £250 GBP per image (about $325 USD or €300 EUR) for a period of four years, or £200 GBP (about $260 USD or €220 EUR) per image is you require ten or more. At the termination, you would have the choice of renewing the licences or allowing them to lapse before they were offered elsewhere for the same purpose.

Non-exclusive licences are currently £150 GBP (about $195 USD or €180 EUR). Alternatively, we are happy to consider a royalty payment based on monthly or quarterly sales with no initial up-front cost to you. The most common agreement is for a 10% royalty on retail sales, paid monthly, but we appreciate you best know your market, and we're willing to consider counterproposals.

The use of each image would be stated in the licence. Any subsequent use for other purposes would require the issue of additional licences.

I'm assuming you might want a Non-exclusive licence. Worldwide Exclusive licences (only you can use that image for that product) carry a higher cost. If you choose that option, we would ensure, during the period of the licence, that no other licences were issued for the same purpose. Of course, that also means that we cannot license the use of images to you if their use is mirrored in a current licence. If you choose non-exclusive, we'll still try to prevent duplication where possible.

Images are supplied as full-size downloads, 300ppi greyscale TIFFs, and PC-formatted unless you specify Mac-formatted. Images can also be supplied on DVD.

I assure you we can be flexible and are willing to consider any proposal you might like to make, such as fixed fees in lieu of royalties.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
*******************************************

As I find others, I'll post anything useful here.
Mike Sibley
WEBSITE: Sibleyfineart.com
BOOKS : Drawing From Line to Life
VIDEOS : DrawWithMike.net

MBfineart
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:10 pm

Re: Licensing Artwork

Post by MBfineart »

Hi Mike, you're an absolute star and i'm so grateful for this help. I am sorry it took so much time off your hands to find the information! I would definitely go for Non - exclusive, and add in the term contract as you advise. You've given me everything I need to proceed with my reply, so thank you very much, and I am sure it will be of use to other's as well.
Best wishes
Marie

User avatar
Mike Sibley
Site Admin
Posts: 981
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2019 1:32 pm
Location: York, UK
Contact:

Re: Licensing Artwork

Post by Mike Sibley »

MBfineart wrote: Sat Oct 07, 2023 6:42 pm I am sorry it took so much time off your hands to find the information!
Don't be! Entirely my fault. I remember downloading everything from both Artpapa and TheDrawingForum... but no luck finding it. It's probably in an old computer. I even checked DVDs from years ago... :roll:

If you need anything else, ask at any time, and I'll go digging again. :)
Mike Sibley
WEBSITE: Sibleyfineart.com
BOOKS : Drawing From Line to Life
VIDEOS : DrawWithMike.net

MBfineart
Posts: 14
Joined: Tue Jul 02, 2019 6:10 pm

Re: Licensing Artwork

Post by MBfineart »

Thank you Mike, you're very kind, I feel lucky to have your wealth of knowledge and guidance at hand! :)

Post Reply