If you don't own original work anymore, can you still sell prints?

[meat]

Say I'm selling prints of a painting I did. I also sold the original. Then whoever bought it scanned it, then started selling prints of same painting with my name removed. How can I prove I'm the original artist and that I'm not selling prints of someone else's intellectual property?

[Chris P]

I'm not a lawyer, but that (hypothetical?) situation sound a bit strange to me:

Somebody bought a picture from you (and presumably paid you money for it) - and now this person denies having purchased the picture from you?

If that really is the issue, then you might want to provide a proof of the transaction (a receipt, a record of a bank transactions, your fingerprints on the original, etc. - It also might depend on to whom you need to prove that you created the picture.)

But are you sure that this really is the problem? Maybe the person who purchased the picture believed they purchased not only the original from you but also the exclusive rights to re-distribute copies.

[meat]

It hasn't happen to me yet, but I want to sell prints of some paintings I have, and that question came into my mind. I don't know what I can do if the other person believes they bought distribution right by mistake. Write disclaimer in every comment section on Etsy, if I end up using that? Other online print websites don't always have comment section or even artist profile/bio section. Or they hid it really well, and I can't seem to find it on the artist they listed.

[hadee41]

Yes, You can sell these prints without any more work.

[ChantalFournier]

You should send a personalized letter with each sale that names the painting, thanks them for their purchase and reminds them that you retain the right for licensing and reproduction. A kind of thank you note/invoice. You keep a copy of each for your records and note when you first put it online. If you have working files of the preliminary sketches, you keep them.