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Originally Posted by mlomaka
I just heard back from Eric, and he sees any further use of his drawings as more exposure unless they are going to use it for tee shirts or something where they would be making money. I guess he could go after TLC and Boyd, but thanks to them, a lot more people has seen his work.
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He has no recourse with Boyd or TLC because Boyd comissions and pays for the work and TLC simply broadcasts them using it. And like he said, most exposure is good exposure and TLC and Boyd have been good to Eric.
In my experience, Most people are decent and honest so I simply get a down payment from first time clients to be sure they're serious before I dive into their project only to find they're broke or aren't really serious.
I don't do a contract in advance, I treat their down payment as their contract and when they pay for their artwork they commissioned, it becomes theirs and they can pretty much do whatever they want to with it. If it winds up getting stolen from a website or the like, then you and your client have rights but I wouldn't get too worked up unless it makes it onto t-shirts in Wal-Mart or a one-off wheel you designed winds up in someone's catalog.
If something truly needs copyrighted or trademarked, try
www.legalzoom.com
As anyone who has worked with the public or in retail, you know there's some people who just can't be made happy and will always find something to complain about so try to avoid them or recognize them early on.
My best advice is there is no substitute for experience whatever it may be and cover your a$$ but don't get too worked up about copyright infringement or you'll protect yourself right out of a good reputation.