Expert: Russell Calabrese - 11/18/2009

Question
QUESTION: if my company is commissioned to design, create and animate 3D animated characters for a TV advertising campaign, do we own the rights to those characters if we want to create a new TV series with them?

ANSWER: Hi Bill,

Check your contract with the company you're designing for. You are probably doing a "work for hire" which means you do not have any rights to the material you are creating. If you are interested in having joint ownership you need to do this before you start work on the project. Check with a lawyer to see what your contract is giving you as the creator of the work.

Hope this helps.

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Russell Calabrese

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanks! what if there is no contract? Just a P.O.

Answer
Hi Bill,

You should have a document written up for your client to sign saying you own the character designs and are licensing them for use in their project. You probably won't own the names of the characters or any of the personalities that have been dictated by the client, since they own the written part of the commercials.

Hope this helps.


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Russell