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Art: The Alley - Rules

Rules for Exhibitors in the Alley

A single violation of this contract could result in the artist being removed from the Alley and the convention at the discretion of the Alley staff. If an individual is removed, they forfeit all fees and will receive no refund for their table or membership.

General Policy: While in the Alley all convention, local, state, and federal rules, policies and laws apply. If an artist breaks any convention rules, he or she will be dealt with in an appropriate manner. If an artist breaks any laws, he or she may have to deal with law enforcement, and possible prosecution. Otakorp, Inc. does not condone an artist�s transgressions.
ID Policy: All artists must show a government-issued, photo ID to check in at the Alley. If an artist is not able to produce a valid ID at check in, their table(s)will be held until 10AM on Saturday, at which point the table(s) will be considered unclaimed and open for sale on a first come, first served basis. Accepted forms of ID include:
- A state drivers� license
- state-issued identification card
- a passport
- military ID.
Other forms of Photo ID may be accepted at the discretion of the Department Head of The Alley. The name on the ID must match the name given during table registration.
AgePolicy: In the state of Maryland, a person must be at least 18 years old in order to sign a contract. Therefore, any person who is not 18 must have an adult sign the contract on their behalf. The adult who co-signed the contract must be present to check-in for a table and accept responsibility for any failure of the under-aged artist to comply with all convention policies as well as applicable laws. In addition an adult must be present at the table at all times. If at any time the Alley staff finds an unaccompanied minor alone at their table they will be removed from the Alley, and the associated tables(s) will be immediately forfeit.
Badges: Otakorp, Inc. badges must be worn at all times. ONLY people with an Artist ribbon will be allowed behind tables within the Alley.
Structures: Any structure brought to display artwork must be of sound construction and may not extend more than 5 feet above the table. If any structure falls down, appears unstable, or extends more than 5 feet above the table, the artist to whom it belongs will be asked to remove it by the Alley staff. In addition, all displays must reside within the confines of your area. Displays behind your table may not impede upon other artists areas nor disrupt traffic flow incase of emergency.
Noise: Overly loud music, videos, etc. will not be tolerated in the Alley. If the amount of sound coming from a table is found to be disruptive as determined by the Otakorp, Inc. appointed Otakon Staff, the artist will be asked to lower the volume. Further noise violations may result in the artist being removed from The Alley and convention.
Giveaways: Any artist who wishes to have a giveaway, raffle, or prize distribution of any kind must contact The Alley staff via email at least 2 weeks before the convention for approval. No requests for giveaways, raffles, etc. will be granted at the convention and any artist holding an unauthorized giveaway will be removed from the Alley and convention.
Photograpy: Photography and video recording are permitted within The Alley, provided that the person being recorded has given permission. Similarly, pictures or videos of art are allowed only with permission of the artist.
Signs: Signage placed within The Alley is to be used only as Otakon�s staff has intended.
Substance Use: Smoking or use of alcohol or drugs while in the Artist Alley will not be tolerated. Violations will result in removal from The Alley and convention.
Behavior: No running, screaming, yelling, horseplay or use of obscene language will be tolerated. It is also expected that, as with any other area of the convention, all artists will be courteous and polite to each other, the staff, and other members.
Fan Art:
1. The Alley is meant to showcase an Artist Talent and work. In this spirit the amount of Fan Art displayed by an Artist or Studio should not exceed more than 50% of their displayed work.
  1. Optional Display Rule: To better facilitate the Alley staff in identifying what is Fan art and what is original artwork you can chose to make either the right half or left half of your table and/or display Fan art and the other half original art work. If you chose to do this please let the alley staff know during sign in so that we can better examine your display without interrupting your sales.
  2. Optional Display Rule Two: To better facilitate the Alley staff in identifying what is Fan art and what is original artwork you can chose to identify you fan art or original art with a single colored sticker displayed on the corner of your artwork and use a different color to note your original work (Note: This also makes a great place to display pricing as well). If you chose to do this please let the alley staff know during sign in so that we can better examine your display without interrupting your sales.
  3. Portfolios do count as part of your display. If you wish to display a portfolio we highly recommend you use Optional Rule Two.
  4. If you chose to use one of the Optional rules any misrepresentation of any type is grounds for dismissal.
2. You may only have up to 10 copies of a single piece of fan art, unless that item is otherwise explicitly disallowed. This is also the standard by which the Alley staff will define �mass production�. The total number of pieces of fan art sold will not exceed 200.
3. Celebrity likeness is considered to be fan art.
4. Ginjinka (IE-Human Pokemon, HTTYD, consoles, MLP:FiM etc) are also considered to be fan art as well.
The following items are prohibited from sale within The Alley:
- Any work with copyrighted logos, regardless of whether or not the work is original.
- Mass produced* prints of art depicting licensed characters.
- Buttons, pins, hats, or t-shirts bearing official character likenesses**. If an artist has, and can produce proof of, explicit permission from the copyright holder to use, then the items will be allowed. This will be determined at the discretion of the Department Head of The Alley, in consultation with all other necessary parties.
- Photoshopped, traced, or copied characters in recognizable poses but with different backgrounds.
- �Knockoff� or bootleg merchandise of any kind (including but not limited to: videos recorded on blank videotapes with printed labels, homemade DVDs, pirated copies of any titles that have been released commercially in the United States, Japan, or elsewhere, titles taped off the air in Japan, and any fan-subs).
- Any posters, idol cards, etc., which read �Kodak� �Fuji�, etc. on the back.
- Unlicensed reproductions of any products actually released by an American company.
- Food, snacks or beverages.
- Legally imported merchandise or legitimate US products. This includes, but is not limited to: wall scrolls, sharpies, art supplies, duct tape, glow sticks etc.
- Any items for sale in the Dealers' Room regardless if you are the creator.
- 2nd and 3rd party sales are not allowed.
- Props that are a replication of a copyrighted and/or licensed nature.
The following items may be sold:
- Any product featuring an artist�s original character.
- Commissioned and hand-drawn works made during the convention, provided that they do not violate any other rule
- Unique, individual, hand-made items
- Doujinshi, fanzines, and similar items as long as they contain your own work in it.
- Fan art which clearly shows that the work is produced by the artist, rather than by the license holder.
- Props that are clearly made by the artist that are original rather than of a licensed nature.
Tables:
1. Number of Tables: A single artist or studio is allowed a maximum of two tables. You may not bring your own table(s) to supplement this amount.
2. Cost: All tables are $150 and do not include a membership/badge.
3. Badges: Your artist alley table does not come with any memberships/badges. Memberships must be paid for separately.
4. Artist Alley Flags:Each artist alley table comes with 3 artist alley flags. Each person behind a table must have a membership badge with an artist alley flag attached.
5. Number of people behind each table: There may only be 2 people behind each table at any time. This includes the common spaces behind the tables as well. Please note that we do give you three flags. This should give you enough people to easily rotate who is behind your table.
6. Table Size:Table sizes are roughly 6ft long by 2ft wide and 2ft 5inches tall. These dimensions are subject to change depending on what is supplied by the decorator.
7. Chairs: 2 chairs are provided with each table. You may not supplement this amount with your own chairs.
8. Transfer of tables: You are not permitted to transfer tables.
9. Table refunds: All tables are non-refundable.
10. Personal Property/merchandise: You are responsible for watching your own personal property and merchandise. Otakorp Inc. and the Alley Staff are not responsible for any lost or stolen items.
11. Table Signage: All table signage should match the information that you registered with. Ex. If you put down on your application that you are �Studio A� but all your signs say that you are �Studio B� this will be seen as a table transfer. Signage that does not match your registration must be removed.
12. Additionally: The Alley is intended to showcase a large number of artists, therefore any violation of this policy which can be proven in the eyes of the Department Head of The Alley and other relevant parties will be grounds for immediate expulsion from the Alley and convention. It may also result in the artist being banned from participating in the Alley in the future.
Groups of Artists: All individuals working together on a single project, or groups of projects, are considered one artist. For example: a group of artists who collaborated to make their art count as a single artist in the eyes of the Alley staff. As such, they will be allowed to register for a maximum of two tables to sell their art. Any artist who is found to be in violation of this policy will be removed from the alley. No exceptions will be made unless permission is granted by the Department Head of the Alley prior to the convention. Please contact the Alley staff prior to the convention with any requests.
Adult Materials Policy: In recent years there has been a marked increase in the number of minors and families attending Otakon. Therefore, Otakorp, Inc. asks that all exhibitors, including artists in The Alley, please keep this in mind when setting up. The acceptability of displays of adult material is at the sole discretion of the Department Head of The Alley. Any materials which are sexually explicit, extremely graphically violent, or otherwise unsuitable for children must be displayed in a manner that keeps minors from seeing them. If any of these materials are found left out in the open, or The Alley staff receives complaints, the artist will be reminded about the adult materials policy ONCE. If any artist sells inappropriate materials to minors, they will be removed from The Alley, Otakon and membership in Otakorp, Inc.. They may also be held accountable under Baltimore City law.
No-Shows:
1. If an artist fails to check in for their table by noon on Saturday, they will be considered a No-Show.
2. At that point, their table(s) will be offered for sale at the at-con rate on a first come, first served basis.
3. Lost tables cannot be reclaimed, and neither credit nor refund will be given for No-Show tables.
4. Line up location will be announced ten (10) min before we begin selling tables. You may not line up prior to this announcement.
Unsold Tables:
1. Unsold tables will be offered for sale one (1) hour after the alley opens on Friday.
2. Line up location will be announced ten (10) min before we begin selling tables. You may not line up prior to this announcement.
3. Tables are sold on a first come first serve basis and are subject to the same limitations as normal table sales.
Artist Early Access:
1. Artists are permitted early access to the artist alley for setup and preparation. Please note the loading docks are not accessible for use. You will need to use the elevator in the Pratt Street entrance to get your merchandise to the alley.
2. Early Access is only available through the Pratt Street entrance one (1) hour before the artist alley opens.
3. Artists caught in the artist alley before this time can be subject to forfeiture of there artist ally table and flags without a refund.
Hours of Operation:
- Thursday set up 5:00pm to 9:00pm � Artists only
- Friday: 9:00am to 1:00pm � Artists only. 1:00pm to 11:00pm � Open to the General Public. 11:00pm to Midnight � Artists only.
- Saturday: 9:00am to 10:00am � Artists only. 10:00am to 11:00pm � Open to the General Public. 11:00pm to Midnight � Artists only.
- Sunday: 9:00am to 10:00am � Artists only. 10:00am to 2:00pm � Open to the General Public. 2:00pm to 3:00pm � Artists only. Please note that all artists must be out of the Alley by 3:00pm.
At Con/Pre Con Commissions:
1. Commissions taken for delivery at the convention, regardless if the commission was taken pre convention for delivery or at the convention for delivery are between the artist and commissioner, Otakon is not a party in these dealings.
2. As such Otakon and the Alley staff cannot assist you in locating either the commissioner or the artist you commissioned. Please make sure you get contact information for one another as part of your dealings.
Changes: Otakorp, Inc., and the Department Head of The Alley hold the right to add, amend, or change these policies as they see fit, without prior notice.

The Alley staff will consistently monitor The Alley for policy violations, and all observed and reported violations will be acted upon. Failure to comply with any part of this contract may result in action up to eviction from the Alley and convention.

Guidelines for Artwork

Everyone knows that copying someone else's work is wrong, but there is no "magic rule" about how much must be changed to make it an artist's own. The artist bears all responsibility and risk for the items brought for sale at Otakorp, Inc. Any questions regarding this policy will be resolved by the Department Head of The Alley, in consultation with Otakorp Inc.'s lawyer when needed. If a piece of art appears to be very similar to a licensed, copyrighted, etc. piece of art, the artist may be asked to remove it from display and sale at the discretion of the Department Head. The Department Head�s decision is final.

Definitions

Official Character Likeness: The actual picture of a licensed character, vehicle, etc. produced by the copyright holder. Fan created drawings do not violate this rule.

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