Copyright for artists
You own the copyright in your work from the moment you create it. There is no registration system in the EU, nothing to file and no fee to pay. The right exists automatically.
What creators actually need help with is three things: proving they made it first, controlling how other people use it, and not signing it away by accident.
What copyright gives you
The right to control copying, distribution, public communication and adaptation of your work. In most EU states it lasts for your life plus 70 years.
You also have moral rights: the right to be identified as the author and the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work. In many EU countries these cannot be assigned at all, even if a contract says otherwise.
Proving you created it first
There is no register, so this is evidential rather than legal. Keep:
- Original working files with their metadata intact, not just exported JPEGs
- Layered or source files, which a copyist will not have
- Dated backups, cloud storage history, version history
- Sketches, drafts and process shots
- Emails and messages showing when you sent the work to somebody
A timestamped file in a service with reliable history is usually enough. Paid registration services exist and are rarely worth the money in the EU, because the automatic right is already there.
Assignment vs licence
This is where creators lose their work, and the difference is one word in a contract.
An assignment transfers ownership. The client owns the copyright outright and you cannot reuse the work, put it in your portfolio without permission, or sell it again.
A licence gives permission to use it while you keep ownership. A licence can be limited by time, territory, medium and exclusivity.
Clients often ask for an assignment when a licence would do everything they actually need. It is negotiable more often than people assume.
What a licence should specify
- Which works exactly
- What uses are permitted: print, digital, advertising, merchandise, AI training
- Which territories
- How long for
- Whether it is exclusive
- What happens on renewal or expiry
- Credit and attribution
A licence that omits the term and the territory is usually read broadly against the person who drafted it, which is often you.
Commissions and collaborations
Under a commission, the default position in most EU states is that the author keeps the copyright unless the contract assigns it. Clients frequently assume the opposite. Put it in writing before starting.
Under a collaboration with no written agreement, ownership is genuinely unclear and works out badly for everyone. Agree it while everybody is still friendly.
Copyright, trademark and design
For a logo, copyright protects the artwork, a trademark protects it as a badge of origin for your goods, and a registered design protects the appearance of a product. For a brand the trademark usually does the real work, because it is registered, easy to prove and covers similar marks rather than only copies.
What we charge
Copyright work is priced per case at €200 an hour after a free consultation. Reviewing a commission contract before you sign it is normally an hour or two, and it is the cheapest legal work you will ever buy.