Copyright Assignment Agreement For Artwork Template for England and Wales

The assignment transfers the economic copyright in the artwork, including reproduction, publication, exhibition, and adaptation rights. It does not transfer the artist's moral rights (right of integrity and right of paternity), which are personal to the artist. It also does not transfer the Artist's Resale Right, which is inalienable and cannot be assigned or waived under the 2006 Regulations.

Yes. The artist retains moral rights unless they are expressly waived in writing. The artist also retains the Artist's Resale Right, which entitles them to a royalty on qualifying resales of the physical original through art market professionals regardless of who owns the copyright. A waiver of moral rights must be signed by the artist personally and should identify the works it applies to.

The Artist's Resale Right (droit de suite), established by the Artist's Resale Right Regulations 2006, gives artists a royalty on commercial resales of original artworks valued above 1,000 euros. It applies independently of copyright ownership and persists for 70 years after the artist's death. A copyright assignment does not affect it; the assignee who later resells the original artwork must account for the royalty.

Yes. Identify the artwork precisely: title, medium, dimensions, date created, and any reference number or unique identifier. Attaching a photographic schedule as an exhibit is best practice for physical works. Clear identification prevents later disputes about whether a specific work was covered by the assignment and avoids ambiguity where an artist has created a series of related works.

No. Under section 11 of the CDPA 1988, copyright in commissioned artwork vests in the artist unless they assign it. Payment for a commission does not transfer copyright. The commissioner needs a written copyright assignment signed by the artist to own the copyright. Without it, the commissioner has an implied licence to use the work for the purpose for which it was commissioned, but does not own the copyright.

The waiver should cover the right of paternity (to be identified as author when the work is published, exhibited, or broadcast) and the right of integrity (to object to changes to the work that harm the artist's reputation). The waiver must be in writing and signed by the artist. It should specify whether it is unconditional or limited to particular uses, and whether it is permanent or time-limited.

The artist should warrant that the artwork is their original creation, that they are the sole owner of the copyright, that it does not infringe any third-party copyright or moral rights, that no prior assignment or exclusive licence has been granted, and that the work is not subject to any outstanding claim. These warranties protect the assignee from discovering the copyright was already encumbered or the work was not original.

Completely separate rights are involved. Selling the physical artwork (the canvas, print, or sculpture) transfers ownership of the object but not the copyright, which remains with the artist unless separately assigned. Conversely, assigning the copyright does not transfer the physical work. To acquire both, the parties must deal with each separately in the same or different agreements.