Discussion:
What is the name of your state? Alaska
Does anyone know: if I commission an eBay seller to draw a portrait, does the artist retain the copyright on the picture or do I keep the copyright?
Tha is, is this a case of work for hire as defiend in the Copyright Act and the copyright is retained by me?
Answer:
You specify in a contract to the artist that you are purchasing the work and the copyright for the work.
Answer:
Does anyone know: if I commission an eBay seller to draw a portrait, does the artist retain the copyright on the picture or do I keep the copyright? As Evilwizard noted, unless you have a contractual agreement to transfer the copyright, the copyright is retained by the artist.
Tha is, is this a case of work for hire as defiend in the Copyright Act and the copyright is retained by me? No. A work for hire is a work that is done by an employee as part of the normal scope of their employment. "Employee" is an employee as defined by your appropriate state laws -- usually means a W-2 employee, one for whom you pay payroll taxes and withhold taxes from. A person commissioned to do a work is never an "employee" for the purposes of work for hire.