Claire commissioned Miggy to paint her garden. Who owns the painting and who holds the copyright in the painting, respectively?

• A. Miggy and Claire, respectively
• B. Claire and Miggy, respectively
• C. Both Miggy
• D. Claire and Miggy, respectively

Answer: (D)

The key idea is that ownership of the physical artwork and ownership of the copyright are separate things. When someone commissions a painting and pays for it, they typically own the physical piece—the painting itself. The artist, however, usually keeps the copyright, which covers rights to reproduce, display, or create derivative works unless there’s a written agreement transferring those rights.

Here, Claire is the one who commissioned and would own the painting itself, while Miggy would hold the copyright unless a contract explicitly assigns those rights to Claire. That’s why the correct arrangement is Claire owning the painting and Miggy holding the copyright.

If the painter retained ownership of the painting or if both were claimed to own the rights without an agreement, that would only occur if there were a specific contract stating those transfers. Absent such an agreement, the default is separate ownership as described.