Do You Need a Contract to Send in Art Files

The digital era has inverse the mode that art is bought and sold, and it'south now easier than e'er to sell your artwork on your own. Simply, if you desire to kickoff selling your piece of work directly, you need more than a website and a payment processing  account. Whether you lot sell your work for $100 or $x,000, y'all're now operating as a business organization and should start acting like 1. This means creating and maintaining documentation to protect you, your business organization, and your work.

Hither are iii necessary art business documents you need to facilitate sales, meet your legal responsibilities and safeguard your work.

1. Artwork Pecker of Sale

In order to sell your artwork, you will need to provide a Bill of Sale. The Beak of Sale, or invoice, is one of your almost of import business organisation documents. Artwork in physical form is considered personal property, and therefore a transfer of title volition be necessary in the grade of a Neb of Sale. This also functions equally a record of the transaction for both the artist and the buyer of the artwork and will be used later when you file taxes. Specific requirements for invoices can vary from country to state, so be sure to double-check with your local or state government when drawing upwardly your artist Bill of Sale.

An Artwork Bill of Auction is your opportunity to set some terms nigh the ownership of your work.

Yous tin can download Artrepreneur's template for an Artwork Pecker of Auction.

Despite slight variations in local requirements, a Beak of Sale should include the following data:

• date of sale and invoice number
• contact data for both artist and heir-apparent with both a physical address too as a telephone number or email
• an itemized list that includes artwork sold with a description of the artwork, including the title, medium, and dimensions, also as any extra costs such as framing, commitment, and installation. If you are selling multiple works at one time, itemize each artwork individually
• billing should exist divided in a subtotal, which is the cost of work and services before taxes, in accordance with state requirements and the total sale
• Copyright and reproduction rights information (encounter below)

Although not a requirement, it's a good thought to accept proper documentation of copyright and reproduction rights in your Nib of Sale to protect against legal bug that could popular up in the time to come. Include data about the copyright and reproduction rights of the work sold to inform buyers that they are simply purchasing the rights to the physical slice of artwork.

You may also want to add terms to your Bill of Sale, such as "all sales are concluding" or include a return policy. Your policy tin can state a length of fourth dimension in which the work can exist returned, and under what weather condition. This can include the method of that render (i.due east. using an insured carrier) and any other conditions you crave to ensure that the work is returned promptly and undamaged.

Both artist and collector should sign and date the artist'south pecker of sale to demonstrate that both are in understanding with the terms of the sale.  Retain your copy!

2. Copyright Certificate

Technically speaking, a copyright is autom atically put in place the moment that a piece of artwork is created. Still, registering the piece of work will brand any potential legal disputes much easier in the futurity by providing a public record that serves as elementary proof that the artwork is yours. Registering is unproblematic and can be done online with the Copyright Role of the U.S. Library of Congress . All you need to do is fill out a registration course on the electronic Copyright Function page and pay the fee. Here is how it works.

Copyright is automatic and provides the copyright holder with the exclusive right to:

• Reproduce (i.due east., make copies of) the work
• Create derivative works based on the work (i.due east., to modify, remix, or build upon the work)
• Distribute copies of the work
• Display the piece of work publicly

Every bit soon equally y'all create your artwork, you will accept these rights. Copyright registration is not required (it only provides actress ben efits). You also don't demand a copyright notice (i.e. © Jim Smith 2016). Yous may want to include language on the Pecker of Sale that establishes who owns the copyright in the prototype, which is different from the physical work.

An case of a copyright clause to include is:

Copyright and Reproduction . The Creative person reserves all reproduction rights, including the right to claim statutory copyright in the Work. The Work may non be photographed, sketched, painted, or reproduced in any fashion any without the limited written consent of the Artist.

Artrepreneur's Art Police force Journal has splendid information, advice, and resources on all art law matters, including explaining copyright and reproduction rights in terms that are easy to understand.

3. Certificate of Authenticity

Y'all should have a Certificate of Actuality for all finished artwork that is sold. This document functions as proof that the artwork is an authentic creation of the artist who has signed and dated it. Artists tin can author this document themselves.

Typically, a Certificate of Authenticity is issued when an artwork is sold at a gallery, and so information technology is validated past a trusted third political party. If you lot sell your work yourself, y'all tin can look into getting a tertiary-party verification certificate from companies like  Monograph or Verisart. Verisart creates secure digital certificates for fine art and binds them to detailed provenance records.

A certificate of authenticity is especially important for serious fine art collectors since these collectors are likely buying your work for two reasons: They take a personal connection to your works, and they believe in its potential as a financial investment. In the best-case scenario, a few years down the road you go a sought-after artist and the heir-apparent considers flipping ane of your pieces. The certificate of authenticity will ensure that they have a genuine Information technology also tin can be used in the time to come, to value your estate for insurance purposes and whatsoever other legal matters that may arise with your work.

A valid Certificate of Authenticity must include specific details about the artwork. The more data you tin provide, the better, only the essential content should include:

• detailed data about the medium used including the type of paint, ink, clay, metal, canvas or newspaper used and their weight
• full title and the date of completion
• dimensions both framed (if this is the case) and unframed
• an extensive tape of dates. Paintings, for case, but require 1 date of completion. Prints and photographs, however, require the engagement of completion of the original and the date of the print.
• A document of authenticity should include a seal that includes the original signature of the creative person, a copyright and reproduction rights argument, and a photo of the work.
• Although not required, artists may opt to include a cursory clarification of the piece of work that describes the techniques used and themes explored and whatsoever other comments from the artist. Detailed data will assist hereafter archiving of your work.

Documentation Storage

Now that you have all of your art business documents in one case a purchase has been made, create a paper and digital file to store them. Make sure you have redundancy in your files and record keeping. This means having your files handy in multiple forms, in multiple ways. The Studio Protector from CERF+ has dandy tips on documentation and safe storage, including frequently bankroll up your records digitally and in the cloud, and having your records in a condom offsite location in example of emergency. Without proper records, information technology can be difficult to file an insurance claim if you lot indeed take insurance for your concern or artwork.

Your documentation tin be created and signed digitally with e-signatures or via hard copy. While y'all can search online for templates and examples of the documents discussed above, they're non e'er geared towards artists and often lack the fields that artists need to enter important information. A great resources for fine art business documents is Tad Crawford's collection of Business and Legal Forms for fine and commercial artists.

What paperwork have you used to sell your piece of work? What systems have worked best for you to go along records as a business owner?

Nicole Martinez

Nicole is a veteran arts and culture journalist. Her work has appeared in Reuters, VICE, Hyperallergic, Univision, and more than.

burnettalmen1970.blogspot.com

Source: https://artrepreneur.com/journal/artbusiness/the-documents-you-need-to-sell-your-artwork/

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