The artist or the company

[ft88]

An artist makes a fantasty original art piece and sells it for $1000.

The same artist creates a seperate similar piece published as a cover by DC comics and can sell it for $10,000.

 

Who created the $9000 difference, the artist or the company? Who deserves to get it.

 

Forget the actual law, if you were the king of the justice system who do you think deserves the money?

[Solar]

I would say that whoever owns the art deserves the money, and that's between the artist and the company.

[*paull*]

I don't know if the current system is fair, and I don't know who should get that money. In my opinion, if an artist is selling that work for 10K because it uses company characters and was published on a company book, I'm not sure if the artist should be able to reap all the profits from selling that piece.

 

What are DC and Marvel's typical fees for a cover?

[ft88]

I would say that whoever owns the art deserves the money, and that's between the artist and the company.

 

A very good point, allow me to rephrase. You are mediating between the two, what do you think is the most equitable split betweent the company and the artist to determine % ownership.

 

Ed

[micmack]

I've had numerous contracts where it is stated that the artist can sell the original art to whatever price they wish. They just can't sell reproductions of said art without permission. Thus the company says, "give it all to the artist!!!"

[snappahead]

Micmack is right. The artist is the rightful owner of the original art and can do what they choose with it..even if that means selling it for thousands. That's what artists have been fighting for for years. The publishers owns the rights to reproduce the image, but doesn't have any rights to the original. Technically, prints are illegal as are selling tshirts and whatnot, but most publishers will look the other way on the prints.

[*paull*]

However, back when artists such as Adams and Steranko were fighting for creator rights, pieces were not being floated on the market immediately for thousands of dollars. Times have changed.

[Mighty Hal]

Give every dime to the artist.

 

The company will still collect on the sales of the book, the trade paperback, the toys and any spin-offs that may result.