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Copyright
It's
up to you, the artist, to decide how, when and where
you want your images of work to be reproduced. Even
though allowing your artwork to be reproduced could
make your artwork better known, it may lead to overexposure
- too much publicity! That could bring down the price
of your artwork.
Plus,
you don't want your artwork to be reproduced on cheap
objects like T-shirts and coffee mugs. You might end
up being associated with a product or cause that you
never wanted to be linked with.
Inuit
art is highly valued and fetches top prices at galleries
around the world. It's important to protect its good
reputation.
The
Canadian Copyright Act protects artists by giving
them the legal right to control how their work is used.
It also gives them the right to be paid if they decide
to allow others to reproduce their work.
An
organization called CARfac
(Canadian Artists' Representation, or in French, le
front des artistes canadiens) has helped visual artists
by lobbying for stronger copyright protection. In 1988,
the federal government changed the Canadian Copyright
Act so that artists became legally entitled to exhibition
and other copyright fees.
CARfac
also works on behalf of artists in areas such as income
tax and GST, the export of artworks, customs regulations,
and the health and safety for artists.
CARfac's
Copyright
Collective negotiates with galleries, magazines
and other copyright users to get higher fees for its
artist clients. Visual artists have the right to control
the use of their works and to benefit from their exhibition
and reproduction. (To be a client, you will need to
sign a contract with the Copyright Collective. It's
free.) All copyrights last for 50 years after an artist's
death.
The
copyrights negotiated by the Collective are Exhibition
Right, Reproduction Right, Reprography Right, and Telecommunication
and Retransmission Right. These are explained in more
detail here.
The
Collective has drawn up a copyright fee
schedule from which to negotiate the best fees for
artists. It views the Fee Schedules as a minimum, rather
than maximum, payment for the use of these copyrights.
This
is how copyright fees are determined: where the matter
of copyright comes up in a business deal, the artist
tells the client that the CARfac Copyright Collective
must be contacted to set fees and get a license. The
Collective then works out the fees, provides the license,
gets the money from the client, and pays the artist
directly. Think of the CARfac Copyright Collective as
your agent.
For
more information, contact:
CARfac Copyright Collective
P.O. Box 172
Christopher Lake SK S0J 0N0
Phone/fax: (306) 982-4784
E-mail: collective@carfac.ca
Web site: www.carfac.ca/collective/
The
Inuit Art Foundation also advises potential clients
that permission is required to reproduce the work of
artists, as per the Canadian Copyright Act. It
offers a copyright service for Inuit art reproduction,
contacting artists on behalf of clients and obtaining
the consent required to use their artwork.
Clients
seeking more information should contact:
Inuit Art Foundation
Country Place
2081 Merivale Rd.
Ottawa ON K2G 1G9
Phone: (613) 224-8189
E-mail: iaf@inuitart.org
Web site: www.inuitart.org
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