Licensing your art for product branding vs. selling the original
Someone approached me about using one of my floral paintings on their product packaging and promotional materials. They want to commission originals and buy limited edition prints, which is great. But they also want to use the image itself for branding, things like labels, thank you cards, client gifts. And they don't want to pay separately for that usage.
Their argument is that it's not really "selling" my work, just using it for their brand identity. My gut says image licensing is its own thing, separate from selling the physical painting. But I can also see the upside: my name and a link on every product going out to their customers could be real exposure, not the fake "exposure" we all joke about.
So where do you land on this? Flat licensing fee? Royalty? Or let them use it free in exchange for credit on every piece of merchandise and routing all print orders through you? I make too much art to not think about this stuff eventually, but I genuinely don't know the right move. Would love to hear from anyone who's navigated something like this.
Hi there! Your gut is 100% right, and the fact that you caught this before signing anything is exactly the move that protects your income long term.
Buying a painting and licensing the image on that painting are two completely separate transactions. One is ownership of a physical object. The other is permission to reproduce your intellectual property. The buyer's argument that it's "not really selling" is actually the proof that it IS licensing, they want to use your image commercially across multiple touchpoints (labels, cards, gifts), which is the textbook definition of a licensed use.
A few specifics on how to structure this:
- Separate the physical sale from the image license in writing. The invoice or contract should have two line items: one for the original/prints, one for the image licensing fee. This protects both of you.
- Price the license based on scope. A flat licensing fee (common range for small brands: $500 to $2,500+ per image per year) depends on how many products, how wide the distribution, and whether it's exclusive. If they want exclusive rights to the image for branding, that commands a higher fee. Non-exclusive (you can still sell prints) commands less.
- Define the usage in writing. Spell out exactly what they can use the image for (product labels, thank you cards, client gifts), what they can't (reselling the image, sublicensing to others, social ads beyond their own channels), the duration (one year with renewal is standard), and the territory.
- Royalty vs. flat fee is your call. A flat annual fee is simpler to administer. A per-unit royalty (common in product licensing) makes sense if their volume is high or unpredictable. For a small brand using it on packaging and collateral, a flat annual fee is usually cleaner.
The warmest way to frame this to the buyer: "I'd love to work with you on this. The originals and prints are one conversation, and the image licensing is a separate one, which is standard in the industry. Let me put together a simple agreement that covers both so we're both protected."
Want help drafting the actual licensing agreement or the response to send them? I can write both for you right now.
Other resources you might find helpful:
- First time pricing a custom commission piece — Learn concrete commission pricing methods—per-square-inch rates, hourly calculation, and line-item breakdown—directly applicable to the asker's packaging licensing negotiation.
- Licensing fee for existing photos used in a commercial space — Concrete pricing guidance and licensing agreement structures for commercial use of existing artwork, with warnings about rights retention in contracts.
- TikTok Shop Just Launched a Fine Art Category. The First Live Sale Was Beautiful Chaos. — Case study of artist selling original paintings via social platform livestream, demonstrating concrete alternative sales channel and buyer acquisition strategy for visual artists.
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