The Risks of Copyright Transfer That Illustrators Should Know About
- MORI Ryuichiro
- May 21
- 4 min read
(This lecture is written based on the circumstances of the illustration industry in Japan and on Japanese law.)
There is something I want all illustrators to know.
It is this:
Once an illustrator has agreed to transfer copyright even once, any subsequent work in advertising or promotion will carry serious risks.
This is a little-known issue, but it is an extremely serious one.
Illustration work for advertising and promotional purposes is generally subject to non-compete restrictions.
In other words, for a certain period of time, the illustrator is prohibited from working for competing companies.
For example, if an illustrator creates an illustration for a poster for a cosmetics company, that illustrator will often be prohibited, for a certain period, from doing advertising or promotional work for that company’s competitors.
If the illustrator does work for a competing company, they may be liable for a substantial amount in damages.
For that reason, the illustrator must continue working while taking great care not to accept work from other cosmetics companies.
However, an illustration whose copyright has been transferred may be used in various businesses without the illustrator’s knowledge.
Let us say that you created an illustration for a poster for Cosmetics Company A, and that your contract prohibits you from working for other cosmetics companies for the time being.
At the same time, let us say that you transferred the copyright to Detergent Company B.
Detergent Company B is a detergent company.
So you transferred the copyright because you assumed it would not be in competition with a cosmetics company.
But Detergent Company B may, in fact, also sell cosmetics.
If that is the case, Detergent Company B can use the illustration whose copyright it purchased for a cosmetics poster as well.
Want to read more?
Subscribe to illustratorschool.online to keep reading this exclusive post.