Thread "Do we really own the rights to our comics?" in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

I took my comic off drunk duck…maybe you should too? I am disgusted by this, everyone read this—> http://www.platinumstudios.com/news/article.php?article=138

*tap tap tap* Are you done reading? Ok. Were you scared too? For those of you too impatient to read, heres the synopsys. You may have to review what rights we own on the comic in Drunk Duck. It got bought by Platinum Studios last month (but only announced this morning). They plan to take popular comics and make merchandise - only instead of it being profitable for the comic creators, they're basically telling us to bend over and take it. it's a 90/10 split, with 10 going to them, but after cost… so 10 percent of PURE PROFIT.

Do you want your comic to remain YOUR PROPERTY? Then take it off Drunk Duck. Find another hosting company if you want. But I'm not that trusting. As for me and Pomm, we're going to make our own website to host our own comic on so something like this underhanded dirty work can't happen to us.

Personally, I love Drunk Duck and all the comics on it. But I think they arin't going to get the message unless a significant amount of people complain, or leave. If you don't care what happens to your comic then by all means. Stay. I however, plan on marketing Pink Rutabaga some day as my own property and don't want some profit stealing company to do it for me.

Man…I hope Drunk Duck doesn't erase this topic…

Posted at 9:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

Man…I hope Drunk Duck doesn't erase this topic…

Why would we? There are like 5 OTHER THREADS talking about the same thing.

Too bad you can't be bothered to read responses over there. :roll:

If you haven't signed an agreement about merchandising your comic, then this won't even affect you.

Now, GoA did. It affects us. It was a whole 23 page "option agreement". If you haven't signed anything to this affect (and no, the "registration agreement does not count), then there is nothing you should be concerned about. Oh, and, by the way, The comic GoA is still property of Chuck, not PS. It's a stipulation in the contract that PS put in.

And the 90/10 is actually pretty good, when you consider PS will be putting up the cash for production, advertising, and shipping. You can go to cafe press and TRY to sell a T-SHIRT for $22.00. Yeah, good luck with that. Or do it on your own and worry about shipping and handling costs. Been down that road, too.
Considering that PS can get to at LEAST 90% more people, I'd say you break more than even, anyway.

But if you'd like to leave, that's your call.

.: SpANG! :.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

ArtPhr33k, you should go reading deviantArt's fine print, because your art's in way more danger there than it is on Drunk Duck. And it's probably pretty safe even on DA. But will you take your art down from DeviantArt based on the fact that their legal fine print gives them the right to make prints and profit from your art? No, because that's a provisionary clause in case you decide to make prints. And how much will you make? The profit ratio's probably about 90:10.

These other guys explained it, and it's been explained in other threads. I don't feel the least bit worried about the safety of my comic. It was safe before, and nothing will change until they approach me to work out a deal.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

ArtPhr33k, you should go reading deviantArt's fine print, because your art's in way more danger there than it is on Drunk Duck. And it's probably pretty safe even on DA. But will you take your art down from DeviantArt based on the fact that their legal fine print gives them the right to make prints and profit from your art? No, because that's a provisionary clause in case you decide to make prints. And how much will you make? The profit ratio's probably about 90:10.

These other guys explained it, and it's been explained in other threads. I don't feel the least bit worried about the safety of my comic. It was safe before, and nothing will change until they approach me to work out a deal.

On DA you get 10% for sure, unless you buy a special account, which is an extra $20 or so, then you get 50%.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

So what you're saying is that you have to use your cut of the money to cover the costs of the merchandise while Platinum make pure profit?

You have to spend money to make money. It's how businesses (even Platinum Studios) work.

Also, the 90/10 split doesn't seem so bad. That large chunk of the money would help you break even, or even make a tidy little profit.

The only thing you have to worry about is if DrunkDuck will go all DeviantART and start having two "tiers" of service, e.g, one for those who pay for their "subscription" and those who don't pay at all.

Besides, it's not like everybody will go mad and start selling merchandise of their comics ASAP.

Also, it's not like PS is FORCING you to sell merchandise. You don't have to sell anything if you don't want to. :)

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

That's a better ratio than you can usually get out of Cafe Press. So if they make some quality stuff (unlike Cafe Press), it could be pretty cool.

Posted at 10:09AM, Sep. 27, 2006

Man…I hope Drunk Duck doesn't erase this topic…

We won't delete it, but there are several threads about this already.

I did change the title of your post from "Do we really own the rights to our comics? No." to "Do we really own the rights to our comics?"

The reason is because the answer is "yes." The fact that you pulled your art of DD and the lawyers aren't chasing you is proof of that, but I know some people get paranoid about stuff like that.

The 90/10 deal is with the artist's consent, so please try to relax.

Posted at 12:09PM, Sep. 27, 2006

(but only announced this morning)

Not really.

Posted at 1:09PM, Sep. 27, 2006

Yes, thank you, ArtPhreek, for overreacting and removing a comic I really enjoyed for reasons that don't make any goddamn sense. The rates aren't the best in the world, but for a new series it's still a big gamble on their part. Y'know, aside from the fact that the entire process is completely voluntary and, if you don't like it, you can just sell stuff on your own.

Posted at 2:09PM, Sep. 27, 2006

The only thing you have to worry about is if DrunkDuck will go all DeviantART and start having two "tiers" of service, e.g, one for those who pay for their "subscription" and those who don't pay at all.

Lol, that used to exist, and it wasn't all that bad.

Posted at 3:09PM, Sep. 27, 2006

From the new FAQ:

Q: Do I still own the rights to my comic once I upload it to DrunkDuck?

A: YES YOU DO. YES. One more time just to be clear: Yes! Drunk Duck offers free hosting, and a community for webcomics. We DO NOT own any rights to YOUR comics. Federal copyright law is VERY CLEAR on this and is designed to protect the creator. Anybody telling you differently is uninformed or lying. On the other hand, if somebody offers you a contract, such as a purchase agreement or option agreement, be it Platinum Studios or Marvel or Simon & Shuster, you should read it carefully, take it to your attorney, and get a clear understanding of what rights you might be giving up once you sign a contract and how much money you may be getting in return. But the choice will always be yours.

Answers that clear enough.