My artistic career ended in the 2nd grade when my drawing “The Unicorn and apple tree” got 4th place (out of 4) in the Ames (think K-Mart) Easter coloring contest in Manassas Virginia.
Although I have since recovered from the defeat, I worry for artists, writers, creative types in these hard economic times. They may be forced to take more permanent work and be asked to sign employment agreements that are harsh, unreasonable or simply unfair.
What if your agreement states that you assign the legal rights to all of the work created as an employee? What if it prohibits you from working on the side and claims all of your side work is owned by the company?
What if it states you cannot compete when you leave? Where will you go?
We have seen non-competes in the following creative jobs in Virginia:
- hair dressers
- graphic designers / artists
- writers / editors
- tattoo artists
- home stagers / designers
- marketing company employees
- webpage designers
Artists should protect their work, and make sure they do not agree to terms of employment that will take these rights away.
We would be honored to review your contract. Maybe you could help me out on my next art contest submission.