Okay, so I have a question that the FAQ doesn't seem to cover.

If you post commissions that you drew on here, but the commissioner doesn't want their character on here, do you, as the artist, have the right to keep the image posted here?

If no because it only has one character, what if there were multiple characters in the image? Would both commissioners have to request that the art be taken down in order for the artist to have their own art taken down?

I would figure that if you purchased the art and don't want it public, the artist overruling you would pretty much defeat the purpose of paying for the commission to be yours in the first place.

I don't know shit tho

I'm thinking more along the lines of it's a public commission that one posts on their FA page, but they wouldn't want their character on this site. E.G. Artica.

In general, the artist has more power over the commissioner because it's their art. Since nearly all character owners in the community do not go through the process of actually copyrighting their character and receiving patents, the art still belongs to the artist. In turn, the artist has the final say, even if it means losing a future customer

fritz said:
Okay, so I have a question that the FAQ doesn't seem to cover.

If you post commissions that you drew on here, but the commissioner doesn't want their character on here, do you, as the artist, have the right to keep the image posted here?

If no because it only has one character, what if there were multiple characters in the image? Would both commissioners have to request that the art be taken down in order for the artist to have their own art taken down?

Assuming that you as the artist retained the right to post the art piece as an example of your work, then it's artist's choice. This is the most common way I see commissions done online these days.

Some commissions specify that the purchaser holds all rights to the work so long as the artist is credited. In this case, the commissioner can say where/when it is shared/posted.

Since you've got it posted elsewhere, I'm assuming it's the first case for you. Which means you have to make the choice of: Pull it from here because you know the customer wouldn't want it here, or keep it here because you want a wider audience for your art.

TL:DR - In this case, I say your choice, but it may affect whether more people commission you if they see you ignore their preferences.

But if the character owner wants it taken down, they can submit a takedown request

I suppose this is a matter I wouldn't understand unless I've drawn enough art and/or receive commissions by other people.

But anyway, as for this subject... It sounds tough. The artist owns the art, but the character portrayed is owned by the commissioner. It honestly sounds like a video game partnership to me, because that's how I'm presently envisioning it.

I guess it ultimately falls down to the owner of the character.

US law States the artist keeps all rights to a commission as long as it wasn't a "work for hire" and only a couple very specific situations make a commission work for hire.
Most TOS on FA also don't hold water for any court rulings, since they are easily changed at a moment's notice.

This is the reason why we here grant the artist automatically more rights to an commission than the character owner (unless the character owner can produce proper paperwork that it's his stuff), means if an artist explicitly states they want to keep X, the character owner(s) can get bent.
If the artist doesn't say anything we give the character owner the benefit of the doubt and remove it out of courtesy, but the artist can override that decision.
Also, with multiple characters one character owner can take it down against the wishes of the other ones.

Besides all that, I'm the guy who deals with all takedowns on here, so if you have a question or problem about anything pertaining to it then feel free to note me.

NotMeNotYou said:
US law States the artist keeps all rights to a commission as long as it wasn't a "work for hire" and only a couple very specific situations make a commission work for hire.
Most TOS on FA also don't hold water for any court rulings, since they are easily changed at a moment's notice.

This is the reason why we here grant the artist automatically more rights to an commission than the character owner (unless the character owner can produce proper paperwork that it's his stuff), means if an artist explicitly states they want to keep X, the character owner(s) can get bent.
If the artist doesn't say anything we give the character owner the benefit of the doubt and remove it out of courtesy, but the artist can override that decision.
Also, with multiple characters one character owner can take it down against the wishes of the other ones.

Besides all that, I'm the guy who deals with all takedowns on here, so if you have a question or problem about anything pertaining to it then feel free to note me.

So if I drew Villydir's Pumzie character getting mauled and raped by a Deathclaw, and upload it here, will Villydir request it be taken down and actually be taken down? :V

Arcanine09 said:
So if I drew Villydir's Pumzie character getting mauled and raped by a Deathclaw, and upload it here, will Villydir request it be taken down and actually be taken down? :V

If you draw something just to harass other people, yes.

Uh maybe I can shed some light here. As NMNY stated. Typically an artist holds the "digital rights" to artwork that they drew. The commission holder has payed the artist to create something, this does not automatically mean the holder owns the piece unless otherwise stated. Usually (and though many artists don't advertise as such) the commission holder can pay extra to receive the piece with his own rights and his own ownership thus transferring it to them fully and compleatly.

As none of us are lawyers, I want to stop the legal discussion.

If an artist wants a post that they created reinstated or downed, we will respect that wish (upon verification).

If a commissioner/character owner wants a post that they claim influence over reinstated or downed, we will also respect that wish so long as it doesn't conflict with an artist's wish.

We are not a court, none of us are patent lawyers, so let's not go down the dangerous road of guessing at the law's intent. This is the site's policy, and if there are any questions on the matter, please direct them to [email protected]

Thankfully, discussing and learning the law isn't only for lawyers. That would make for a pretty awful society. Ignorance of the law isn't a defence from it, after all.

But making statements aka "this is the law" can go against you in a US court.

Thankfully I'm not in the US so #yolo.