Calculating the price of a transfer of copyrights for artwork

Question

I have been asked to design a set of 20 different posters for a big packaging company. This client requires an estimate price for the design service. After giving them an estimate, they are now asking me to calculate and add the costs of a full transfer of ownership and copyrights of the artwork. Basically they need all the editable files in order to be able to make modifications and derivates, republishing the work in any kind of media and territory and for an unlimited scope of time.

Is there a standard was to calculate the price of a full copyright transfer? How is this normally calculated?

Answer 1

Simple: Your price for poster design creation * 20

Your price depends on how you value yourself.

My estimate for a poster is 1K-10K - depending on

• how many creative ideas are needed (for example 20 different or variation of the same)
• complexity
• what level of innovation is neccesary

Also it's common practice apply some discount for order volume - you don't need waste your time looking for another customer.

Although you maybe heard that in some agencies only creative idea starts from 30K, you should understand what client values when he orders from you, not from that agency.

By the way: here is an interesting survey https://www.secondwindonline.com/library/public/Annual_Surveys/2013_production_price_survey_results.pdf

Answer 2

Bill by the time (average) to create the first document and then multiply it by quantity. Build in some buffer so not to under price the project should one or some of the the project segments (aka posters) take longer to design than expected. A discount for quantity is warranted on a per client basis (one-off client vs long term / on-going business relationship, etc.)

Transferring full rights, which essentially means loss of billable time for changes over the life of the content, should be factored in to the contract price. Offset the discount that is offered, if any, rather than having a "rights transfer fee" as that can look petty. Increase the contract by a percentage of potential loss in billable time. Again, this is per client basis.

Update the contract for production to reflect a written agreement as to what assets are transferable and what is not. One particular asset requirement might be a "Design By" label giving recognition of your creation not be removed; alternatively, you might not want your name on it once changes have been made thus a stipulation that the Design By label be removed upon change. Appraise the project by content and ensure you do not loose rights to a potential asset that is otherwise utilized in past or future projects.