Q: I want to sell posters featuring drawings of musicians. Do I need to pay the musician?
Hello, I am interested in printing and selling posters. The posters will feature drawings/interpretations of famous music artists. I plan to hire artists to draw the posters (the drawings will not be based on any photographs or previous designs), paying the artists an initial fee and royalties on each sale. Do I owe a piece of the revenue to the music artists? Their actual image (ie a photograph) is never used. However, I would like to be able to advertise the posters as "A 'insert artist name' poster." I am based in CA. Thank you very much
A:
I would. The copyright aspect is only one of the issues to be concerned about. There is also a civil offense called Appropriation of Name or Likeness. In California, this is provided for by statute as well as case law.
For example, let's say you use Taylor Swift as the artist in question. You're not using an actual photo of Taylor Swift, but rather a picture someone drew of her. The copyright part deals with the drawer's ownership of the photo and your use of it. The Appropriation of Name tort deals with your relationship with the subject of the photo. Presumably people are going to be more likely to buy the drawing because it has likeness of Taylor Swift as opposed to, say, me.
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