For dinosaur artists, this is an interesting time as well. During the '70’s and '80’s, there were only a few artists who specialized in accurate paleontological restorations of dinosaurs as a full-time job, and there existed a relatively small media industry to support them. In the '90’s, more and more devoted new talent entered the field. Simultaneously, an increased need for dinosaur art is being generated by new dinosaur finds, new image-hungry technologies, and public demand; and suddenly, dinosaur art is on the verge of becoming an acknowledged profession.
The media too, are undergoing a change. Book publishers are no longer just in the business of publishing books, but are often part of larger media and entertainment conglomerates. Cable TV networks are established and expanding and require more and more product to fill up all those hours. Popularized science magazines have proliferated. Video games, CD-roms, the Internet are all competing for public attention and money, and the one way they’ve all learned they will get it is by featuring dinosaurs. And the one way they like to get their dinosaur stuff is with total control and as cheaply as possible.
So we have a kind of traditional supply and demand tension. I’m sure everyone in the field of dinosaur paleontology is happy that the subject hits such a resounding chord with the American public, especially children. Any way we can enliven scientific endeavor to appeal to children is a good thing. And we’re generally happy that the media shows so much interest and is willing to pay so much attention to the subject which fascinates us so completely. But the field is being exploited in a less than even-handed way. Scientific research takes a long time, and is poorly funded. And doing accurate life restorations has to be a full-time job, doing the artwork takes day and night and requires enormous research for the artist to stay current with scientific papers as they come out. Furthermore, the artist generally has no institution from which to draw a salary for his/her work, and is entirely dependent upon the deal which can be struck with the art buyer. So, while we’re all delighted by the increased demand for the various talents we bring to the field of dinosaur paleontology, we owe it to ourselves and our profession to strike better deals with the popularizing media. And sharing information which can be used in our negotiations will help each of us, and therefore, all of us.
This book is aimed primarily at dinosaur artists, but contains a lot of information that will be useful to paleontologists who write books or magazine articles or appear on TV. Much of what I’ve put in here will be familiar to some of you, totally new to others, but I wanted to put it down in one place so we’re all starting “on the same page” in our dealings with the media.
I’ve included a number of model contracts which may be useful either as actual forms or as guides for preparing and negotiating an agreement for a particular project. Certain of the contracts are set up so you can re-type them if you wish, or, if you don’t have time, just photocopy them and fill in the blanks in ink. (Just remember to put a sheet of plain paper covering the binding when you copy the contracts.) In using the forms, however, care should be taken in evaluating whether a form with the blank filled in is sufficient, or whether this text and the forms are best used as a starting point for crafting a new agreement for your transaction.
This book offers some insights on legal considerations, particularly in the area of copyright law; however, a work of this scope cannot possibly cover all of the nuances or issues in a particular transaction. In addition, the law changes over time through amendments to legislation and judicial interpretation. This book is not offered as a legal treatise or as legal advice. Persons using this book should strongly consider consulting with experienced legal counsel in connection with their contracts or business, even if only to the extent of having an attorney review a proposed contract after it is prepared. Remember, an attorney is only useful if consulted before anything is signed.
I’d like to thank Dr. Peter Dodson and Dr. Jim Farlow for their empathy with artists and encouragement to begin this project; Dr. Thomas A. Lesser and Dr. Steven H. Gittelman for their help and support and the Dinosaur Society for awarding me the grant; my partner, Bob Walters for sharing our 16 years of contract writing, running a studio, and learning the hard way; my sister Johanna for preparing this document for the World Wide Web, my excellent legal advisors, John Ryan and Thorley Mills of the Philadelphia law firm of Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel LLP; Bill Stout for his generosity and expertise and his excellent article; and all of the artists and paleontologists with whom I spoke, for their help and candor during the course of assembling this information.