Q: I would like to know if I, as the artist, still hold the
rights to reproduction of an image I sold to a stock art house even
though I do not actually have possession of the artwork.
A: Generally speaking, an artist retains the copyright to his
or her work unless those rights are specifically transferred to someone
else. It sounds as if you did sign away your rights to the piece, but
careful study of your agreement with the stock art house will probably
illuminate this issue.
Copyright laws are complex. A simple protection for artists has
always been to inscribe the letter ‘c’ inside a circle next to their
signatures (©), but even without this symbol the signature should be
sufficient to prove ownership of a copyright. You may wish to consult a
lawyer that specializes in art about your particular situation. To
locate Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in your area, call the New York
office at (212) 319-2787, ext. 1. There are also two informative
publications that may be of interest: Legal Guide for the Visual Artist, by Tad Crawford (Allworth Press, New York, New York) and The Artist-Gallery Partnership: A Practical Guide to Consigning Art, by Tad Crawford and Susan Mellon (Allworth Press, New York, New York).