Copyright and paintings

Factual Questions
1

I generally understand how copyrights work on narrative works like novels or songs or movies. But is there an equivalent for paintings and how does it work?

Let’s say I paint a picture. Somebody greatly admires it and buys the painting from me for $10,000. Obviously they own the physical object itself.

But who owns the image? Let’s say my painting becomes well known and somebody wants to produce it as a poster or jigsaw puzzle. Do they have to pay me for the rights to the image? Do they have to pay the person who owns the painting for the right to the image? Or can they use the image freely without paying anyone?

2

IANAL, but I know the ownership of the physical item and the copyright are distinct. You could sell both to the new owner, but you could also sell only the physical painting. I don’t know for sure, but I’d believe in the U.S. you would not sell the copyright by default when you sold the painting, you would have to explicitly state such.

Of course if the painting were originally a work for hire, the person you painted it for would own the copyright, but not necessarily the physical painting. This doesn’t fit with your description of what “happened” though.

3

This might help: You Bought It; You Own It ... Or Do You? Supreme Court To Decide