Get paid copyright as a freelance creator.

You are a freelance designer and you have been commissioned to develop product models (clothing, jewelry, accessories), which will then be marketed by a brand, and you are wondering how to be sure to negotiate the fair remuneration for your creations?

Either the brand that commissioned you sent you a contract for the provision of services, or you provided it with yours. In all cases, it must include a clause for the transfer of rights to your creations in favor of the brand, in return for remuneration.

You have to keep in mind that the main reason why the brand pays you is not for create, but to have the right to appropriate your creations.

The creative effort you make is spread over a defined period of time, while the benefits of exploiting creations by a company are potentially endless. This is why it is important to be paid in line with the true value of your creations.

Am I entitled to the payment of copyright on my creations?

Any creation Original entitles you to the payment of copyright.

By “original” we mean a model that shows a creative effort as well as an aesthetic bias. In the case of clothing, the choice of a cut, patterns and material are sufficient in most cases to make the creation original. To take a concrete case: if you imagine a white T-shirt with a standard cut and decide to add patterns that you design yourself, the T-shirt will be an original creation. As we have seen, an original creation entitles you to the payment of copyright.

In general, creations that are not considered “original” are creations devoid of any uniqueness, for example, a white cotton T-shirt with a universal fit. This is also the case for creations made following the precise instructions of the brand, because they do not require any creative effort on the part of the creator.

Royalties or package... or both?

If your creation is original, the company that commissioned you is obliged to pay you royalties on the price at which the creations are sold to the public, except in the case where the calculation of royalties is impossible (for example, if they are creations that are integrated into another product).

However, in cases where the calculation of royalties on the selling price of products is impossible, you must therefore receive royalties on the selling prices to the public, in addition to the package that you negotiated for the creative mission.

Whether you receive royalties or not, the company that commissioned you is obliged to provide you with clear and transparent information once a year on the income it generates through the marketing of your creations. Even if most contracts do not include this obligation, you are entitled to request these documents from the company.

Once this information is received, if you notice that the income generated by the marketing of your creations is very high and that the amount you were paid for their creation is insignificant, you are entitled to request additional remuneration directly from the company.

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Link to the article published on the French Fashion Union website

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