Synopses & Reviews
Take care of the legal and business side of your business and focus on creating your crafts!
Crafting for profit is on the rise, and you may find yourself relying more and more on the income generated from your creative enterprise. At the same time, the legal and business side of crafting can be daunting for artists, consuming time and money that could be better invested in creating new products -- and possibly even leaving you open to copyright violation or tax troubles. With the instructions and explanations in The Craft Artist's Legal Guide, you'll learn how to:
get a design patent or license your crafts work price and sell works, online and off select the right studio and deal with leases, noise restrictions, and zoning laws find and utilize free ways of promoting your business online hire workers and sales reps choose the right insurance complete and file required business forms The Craft Artist's Legal Guide will help you focus on your creative works, simplifying procedures and avoiding problems. Each chapter of the book starts with an engaging profile of a working craftsperson, then identifies and discusses the nuts and bolts business and legal issues that you're likely to encounter as an artist. The book also provides helpful legal contracts for the most common crafts business activities, as well as various money-saving online resources that will save you time and money.
Synopsis
Legal and business essentials for crafts artist-entrepreneurs
Synopsis
Take care of the legal and business side of your business and focus on creating your crafts Crafting for profit is on the rise, and you may find yourself relying more and more on the income generated from your creative enterprise in a down economy. But the legal and business side of crafting can be daunting for artists, consuming time and money that could be better invested in creating your products, and possibly even leaving you open to copyright violation or tax troubles.You've already found your passion, so let The Craft Artist's Legal Guide coach you through the business of crafting with a comprehensive, friendly review of all the major legal and tax considerations facing artists, along with clear examples of how to approach them. You'll learn how to: get a design patent or license a craftprice and sell material, online and offselect the right studio and deal with leases, noise restrictions, and zoning lawsfind and utilize free ways of promoting your business onlinehire workers and sales repschoose the right insurancecomplete and file required business formsprotect copyright, patents, and trade dresssave on taxes and preserve incomeEach chapter of the book starts with an engaging interview with a working craftsperson about the various business and legal issues that every artist is likely to encounter. You'll also get the lowdown on various money-saving online resources that will save you time and money.
Synopsis
The Craft Organization Directors Association reports that 22% of craft households derive all of their income from craft. Crafting for profit is on the rise as more and more people in todays down economy rely on the income from their crafts, whether for sole or supplementary support. But the legal and business side of crafting can be daunting to artists, consuming hours and money theyd rather invest in creating, and potentially leaving them open to copyright violation or tax trouble. The Craft Artists Legal Guide takes the mystery out of the business side of crafting, offering a comprehensive but friendly review of all of the major legal and tax issues, plus clear examples of how to approach them. It explains how to:get a design patent or license a craft;price and sell material, online and off;select the right studio and deal with leases, noise restrictions and zoning laws; find and utilize free ways of promoting the business online;hire workers and sales reps;choose the right insurance;complete and file required business forms;protect copyright, patents and trade dress;save on taxes and preserve income.Each chapter of the book starts with an engaging interview with a working craftsperson about the various chapter-specific business and legal issues that every artist is likely to encounter.
Table of Contents
1. Pricing and Selling
The Pricing Dilemma: How Much Do You Charge? Selling Wholesale Selling Retail Selling at Crafts Shows Selling on Consignment Custom Orders Shipping and Delays Returns and Refunds Ten Tips for Collecting Past-Due Accounts Selling and Buying Outside the U.S 2. Your Studio Working From Home Finding the Right Space at the Right Price Studio Safety 3. Going Online Where Do You Start? Free Stuff Invoice Customers and Get Paid Online Battle of the Community Stores: Etsy vs. eBay Earn Money With Google Adsense The (Very) Basics of Driving Traffic to Your Crafts Site How to Build a Website in 24 Hours Basic Legal Rules When Going Online 4. Hiring Workers and Sales Reps Employee vs. Independent Contractor—Whats the Difference? Ten Tips When Hiring Family Members Statutory Employees Firing Workers Works Made for Hire When Workers Learn Your Crafts Secrets Hiring Sales Reps 5. Business Forms and Legal Liability Personal Liability: What Is It? The Business Entity as Shield Sole Proprietorship Partnership LLC vs. Corporation—Whats the Difference? The Cooperative Other Ways to Limit Liability The Need for Basic Insurance Assess and Reduce Your Risks Product Liability 6. Protecting Appearances With Copyright How a Copyright Protects You What Type of Work Qualifies for Copyright Photographs of Your Crafts Work Do You Need to Register With the Copyright Office? Choosing Whether to Register Your Works in Groups Filing a Copyright Application Posting a Copyright Notice on Your Work Getting Permission to Use Someone Elses Work Fair Use: When Its “Fair” for You to Use Pieces of Others Works The First Sale Doctrine: Your Right to Resell Works The Public Domain: Free Stuff Using Copyright Assignments What Rights Does the Customer Acquire When They Buy Your Work? Infringement of Copyright The Visual Artists Rights Act: Crafts Works and Fine Arts Personal/Model Releases 7. Protecting Appearances With Design Patents and Trade Dress Comparing Design Patents and Copyright Design Patents: The Bottom Line How to Get a Design Patent What Qualifies for a Design Patent Preparing a Design Patent Application Are There Other Types of Protection? Trade Dress What to Do If Your Work Is Ripped Off 8. Names and Trademarks Trademark Basics Collective Marks and Certification Marks Staying Out of Trouble Federal Registration 9. Licensing Crafts Licensing Overview Merchandise License Agreement Licensing Worksheet 10. Taxes Hobby vs. Business—Whats the Difference? Paying Taxes Tax Deductions 11. Lawyers, Contracts, and Lawsuits Hiring Lawyers for Routine Business Hiring Lawyers for Legal Disputes Finding the Right Lawyer Fees and Fee Agreements Evaluating Your Attorneys Services Using Contract Provisions to Avoid Legal Costs and Hassles Appendix How to Use the CD-ROM Installing the Files Onto Your Computer Using the Word Processing Files to Create Documents Files on the CD-ROM Index