Commissioned work is creative work done at the request of an employer who owns the copyright. The creator agrees to assign ownership in exchange for a salary or reimbursement. Legal contracts define rights and can lead to legal battles, as seen in the American comics industry. Some artists have been able to reclaim their original artwork or opt into creator-owned properties.
A commissioned work is a legal category usually applied to creative work, such as photography, artwork, or writing. The creator of a commissioned work works at the request of an employer, such as a publisher or producer. In exchange for a salary or other form of reimbursement, the creator agrees to assign ownership of the work to the employer under US or other applicable copyright laws. The distinction is made because, in most other circumstances, copyright is automatically assigned to the creator.
Under laws such as the US Copyright Act of 1976, the author of any creative work is legally the copyright holder of that work, even if it is published by someone else. A freelance writer, for example, may sell a story to a magazine but retain the rights to later reprint the story in a book or adapt it into a movie screenplay. These rights are often defined by a legal contract signed by both parties at the time of the sale.
The creator of a commissioned work, on the other hand, accepts that the employer owns the copyright, including the rights to reprint and adapt. This is also usually stipulated in a legal contract at the time of rental. The employer can then reproduce, alter, distribute or adapt the work in any way, while the creator has the legal right not to do any of these things. The only way for a creator to regain those rights is to buy them from the employer, if that is financially feasible and the employer is willing to sell.
The work-for-hire system can sometimes lead to legal battles, such as the one that occurred in the American comics industry. From the 1930s to the 1960s, most comic artists believed their work had little value beyond the magazines’ monthly publication dates, and gladly signed contracts designating commissioned work. As the markets for comic book collecting and merchandising emerged, artists saw their employers make their fortunes off characters and stories they had created for small sums decades earlier. As far as work-for-hire requirements were concerned, they had no legal standing to claim any part of these massive profits.
Pressured by outraged comic book fans, publishers reluctantly caved in and allowed some high-profile artists, like Captain America creator Jack Kirby, to reclaim their original artwork. Others, like Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, have had to settle for token payments and “created by” signatures. The ensuing furore led many comic book publishers to re-examine the work-to-hire system. Beginning in the 1980s, some prominent artists like “Sin City” artist Frank Miller could opt into “creator-owned” properties that allowed them to control the copyright and future use of their works.
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