Plain-language answers on rights, contracts, business and disputes. Every matter is different, so this is general information, not legal advice. Book a call to talk about yours.
A closer look at the legal areas that come up in an art and creative practice. This is general information, not legal advice — for your situation, start with a triage call or the Clinic.
Copyright arises automatically when you create an original work and generally lasts your life plus 70 years — registration is optional but can help prove ownership. Moral rights protect your authorship credit and the integrity of your work; they can't be sold, but they can be waived, so watch for waiver clauses in contracts.
When you create with others, who owns what? Joint works, collaborations, and collectives raise questions about shares, decision-making, and who can license the result. A short written agreement up front prevents painful disputes later.
Canada uses "fair dealing" (not the US "fair use"), which permits limited use for purposes like research, criticism, review, news reporting, education, parody, and satire. These rules decide what you can do with others' work — and what others can do with yours.
Can platforms train AI on your work? Who owns AI-assisted output? You can set terms — including whether AI may train on your work — through licensing and rights metadata. Work generated purely by AI without meaningful human authorship generally isn't protected by copyright. Minting an NFT usually transfers a token, not the underlying rights.
If your work uses a real person's image or likeness — or someone uses yours — privacy and personality/publicity rights apply. Model releases and use-of-likeness agreements set out what's permitted and protect everyone involved.
Some countries give artists a royalty when their work is resold (the artist resale right). Canada doesn't have one yet, though it has been proposed — we can advise on where it applies and how to structure sales.
Questions about whether a work is authentic, and its ownership history, affect value and sales. Authentication opinions and provenance records carry both legal risk and benefit, so they should be handled carefully.
Moving certain cultural objects across borders is regulated, and there are growing calls to return cultural property to origin communities. These matters involve specific laws and protocols.
Traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions often don't fit neatly within existing copyright law, and call for particular care and respect for community protocols and self-determination.
A licence lets others use your work while you keep ownership — the terms (exclusive or not, which media and territory, how long) decide what you're paid and what you keep. We're guided by the CARFAC-RAAV Minimum Recommended Fee Schedule, so your agreements meet or exceed industry standards.
Representation and consignment agreements should be clear on commission splits, exclusivity, territory, insurance, payment timing, return of unsold work, and how either side can end the relationship.
Public art and commission contracts should cover scope, the payment schedule, ownership of copyright (separate from the physical work), fabrication and installation, maintenance, and moral rights — especially for site-specific work.
Studio leases and exhibition agreements should be clear on term, cost, insurance, liability, and what happens to your work and equipment if something goes wrong.
Turning your work into products — prints, apparel, and more — means licensing your images and protecting your brand. Agreements should cover royalties, quality control, approvals, and territory.
Whether you operate as a sole proprietor, incorporate, or form a partnership affects your taxes, personal liability, and how you sign contracts. We can advise on the right structure for your practice and help set it up.
Whether you're hiring assistants or working for an institution, employee-versus-contractor status, who owns work made on the job, and workplace issues all carry legal consequences.
Grant agreements come with conditions — reporting, intellectual property, acknowledgement, and sometimes repayment. Read them before you sign so the obligations don't surprise you.
Setting up or running an arts non-profit or charity involves incorporation, governance, charitable status, and ongoing compliance requirements.
If you run a website, shop, or app, you likely need a privacy policy and terms of service that meet privacy law and set the rules for how people use your site.
Your copyright and moral rights outlive you and pass to your estate. Planning who manages your copyrights, your archive, and licensing protects both your legacy and the people who inherit it.
Art can attract defamation claims — or be the target of them. Whether a statement or image is defamatory, and what defences apply, depends on the facts and the law.
When work is removed, refused, or restricted, freedom-of-expression questions arise. We can advise on your rights and the limits that apply.
This isn't the whole list — art and creative practices raise many other legal questions. If yours isn't here, ask; it's very likely something we can help with or point you toward.