Crayons, Contests, & Copyright: Contracting to Use a Child’s Creative Work

Authors

Kaelyn Timmins-Reed, Chapman University

Abstract

"From crayon drawings on a parent’s refrigerator to an award-winning short film by a fourteen-year-old, children and young people under the age of eighteen are constantly creating.2 Society encourages children to create: there are many programs, including Youth Communication and Kids in the Spotlight, discussed in greater detail below, that encourage and empower youth to express themselves by writing or making films in order to heal, grow, and advocate for themselves.3 Though children have no affirmative legal 'right to create,' the United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of the Child states that, subject to certain restrictions, children 'shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds . . . either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of the child’s choice.'4 The legislative history behind the Convention suggests that it was intended to recognize a core concept of contemporary childhood—that a child 'is not only an object of care and concern but also a subject whose rights should be respected.'5 One member of the committee for the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child noted, '[g]enuine effort should be made to seek out the positive aspects of youthful expression and channel it to useful ends.'6"

Recommended Citation

Kaelyn Timmins-Reed, Crayons, Contests, & Copyright: Contracting to Use a Child’s Creative Work, 27 Chap. L. Rev. 215 (2023).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/chapman-law-review/vol27/iss1/6