What does a rights or permissions team need to know before licensing a cartoon? Four things: the print run, the territory, the formats and the edition. At CartoonStock we license cartoons to publishers of course books, textbooks, trade nonfiction, magazines and e-learning, and every license is built from those same four parts. This guide brings together cartoon licensing for publishers in one place, with a link to the full post on each topic.
What Cartoon Licensing for Publishers Covers
A cartoon belongs to the cartoonist who drew it, or to their estate. Every time a publisher uses it, the cartoonist gets paid. A license is how that happens, and it gives your permissions log a record of exactly what you cleared.
A standard publication license covers one edition, at one print run band, in one territory. The cartoon runs inside the publication at less than half a page. Licenses are non-exclusive and non-transferable, and they don’t expire unless you agree a custom term.
Print run. There are five bands: 1–5,000, 5,001–50,000, 50,001–100,000, 100,001–1,000,000 and 1,000,001 and above. Ebook downloads count toward the same total. If a title outgrows its band, you pay only the difference to the next one.
Formats. The print license includes the ebook in the same content and context.
The artwork. Only the caption font can change without our written agreement.
The credit. Every cartoon carries the credit www.CartoonStock.com in the immediate vicinity of the cartoon.
Pricing and Quotes
Price depends on four things: the print run band, whether you publish in the US, the format and the number of cartoons. Our pricing page shows the standard options.
For anything outside them, such as cover use, send us the details through our quote form. Every license comes with a PDF of its terms for your records.
Which Territory Should a Publisher Choose?
Choose worldwide if the title will be sold or distributed in the US or Canada at any point. Otherwise, choose everywhere outside the US and Canada. Those are the only two options. There’s no world English, regional or all-language split.
Ebooks are where territory slips most. A print edition stays where you ship it, but an ebook on an international platform usually reaches North American buyers by default, so its license needs worldwide. If distribution changes after you’ve licensed, tell us before the book reaches the new market.
Territory rights for publishing (coming soon) covers distribution deals and co-edition markets in more detail.
When Do You Need to Relicense for a New Edition or Reprint?
A reprint of the same edition needs nothing further, as long as total copies stay inside your print run band. Ebook downloads count toward that total. If a reprint takes you past the band, you move up to the next one and pay only the difference. A new edition needs a new license, whatever the print run, and the cartoonist is paid again.
Keep the cartoon IDs in your permissions log and relicensing becomes a list you send us. For cartoons central to a title that spawns workbooks, digital components or teacher materials, ask about our publication and product family license. It covers print, ebook, web and derivative works for the life of the edition.
Relicensing images for a new edition or reprint (coming soon) walks through each case.
How Do You License a Cartoon for a Translation or Co-Edition?
License it like any other edition, then send us the translated caption for approval before it’s printed. A caption is part of the artwork, so translating it changes the cartoon. Literal translations are accepted. If the translation changes the meaning, we consult the artist. The drawing itself stays as drawn.
You don’t always need your own translation. We offer caption translations into Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German and Japanese, so look for “Available in” on the cartoon’s page.
A co-edition usually changes language, territory and edition at once, so settle all three before the cartoon goes into the layout. Our licenses are non-transferable, too. A partner publishing under its own imprint should license directly with us.
Licensing cartoons for translations and co-editions (coming soon) takes each step in turn.
Does Cartoon Licensing Differ by Publishing Sector?
The license doesn’t. What differs is which part of it matters most.
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- School and ELT course books are often adapted for several markets and revised when syllabuses change, so territory and new editions come up most.
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- Higher education textbooks tend to have large print runs, worldwide territory and a long life across many editions.
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- E-learning and courseware count downloads instead of printed copies.
The core rules of cartoon licensing for publishers stay the same in every sector: the credit, the non-transferable license and artwork that stays as drawn. How cartoon licensing differs across publishing sectors (coming soon) goes sector by sector. If your title doesn’t fit a category, that’s normal. Much of what we license doesn’t.
How Do You License Several Cartoons for One Title?
Send us the whole list in one enquiry and you’ll get one quote back. Include the title, the cartoon IDs, the print run band, the territory, the formats, any cover use and your deadline.
Cartoons licensed together for one publication share the same band, territory and formats. Cover use needs a custom license, so flag it and we’ll quote it separately. Publishers who license regularly, or have several people clearing images, can hold an account and be invoiced.
Licensing several cartoons for one project (coming soon) explains accounts and invoicing.
How Should You Brief a Picture Researcher on Cartoons?
Brief the idea the cartoon has to carry. “A cartoon about procrastination for the time management chapter” gives a researcher something to find. “A man at a desk” doesn’t.
Then give them the license terms from the start: print run band, territory, formats, planned translations and any cover use. Tell them what can’t change, too: cropping or recoloring needs our written agreement, and standard use is under half a page. Ask for cartoon IDs with every shortlist.
We work directly with researchers and agencies licensing on a publisher’s behalf. Agree whose name goes on the license before anyone buys, since it can’t be transferred afterward.
Briefing picture researchers and sourcing agencies on cartoon licensing (coming soon) has more on what to include.
The Bottom Line
Cartoon licensing for publishers rests on four decisions: print run band, territory, formats and edition. Settle those, send one list for each title, and keep the cartoon IDs for the next edition. CartoonStock licenses cartoons to publishers worldwide, from more than 750,000 cartoons by over 1,000 cartoonists, and every license pays the cartoonist.
Licensing cartoons for publishing · Request custom terms
Q&A: Cartoon Licensing for Publishers
Q: Another publisher already licensed this cartoon. Can we rely on their license?
A: No. Licenses are non-exclusive, so we can license the same cartoon to you, but they’re also non-transferable. Your title needs its own license.
Q: Can we license a cartoon before the manuscript is final?
A: Yes. License on your best estimate of the print run and tell us if it changes. For covers or any change to the artwork, ask us before you license.
Q: Our imprints license separately. Can they share one account?
A: Ask us, and tell us how your teams clear images. Whatever the account setup, each title still needs its own license.
Keep Reading
Using cartoons in your book: a permissions and licensing guide for authors (coming soon)
Related Posts
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- Who handles image permissions, the author or the publisher? (coming soon)
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- Using a cartoon on a book cover (coming soon)
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- Filling in your publisher’s permissions log (coming soon)