From book covers to film adaptations, Italian artist Lorenzo Ceccotti demonstrates how mastering intellectual property (IP) can turn creativity into opportunity. His work on Paolo Giordano’s novel Tasmania illustrates how strategic licensing, awareness of contracts, and vigilance over AI clauses enable artists to safeguard and expand their vision across cultures and industries.
By Intellectual Property Institute Luxembourg (IPIL)In the world of visual storytelling, not too many Italian artists have left such a distinctive footprint as Lorenzo Ceccotti, known to many simply as LRNZ. His works are creating a bridge between traditional craftsmanship and modern media, and spans from comics, illustration, design to animation. Being able to develop an original IP strategy for different mediums and markets has been proven a key to success. Here is his story:
Over the years, Lorenzo Ceccotti's covers have graced international adaptations of works by renowned authors such as the Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and Jeff Vandermeer from the US. Each cover reflects his creativity in narrative composition. So when the acclaimed novelist Paolo Giordano invited him to design the cover of his novel Tasmania, Lorenzo knew it would be one of those rare projects where literature and visual art would merge seamlessly. He collaborated with Giulio Einaudi Editore, one of Italy’s most renowned publishing houses, which opened a new chapter in his understanding of IP.
Building bridges across borders
For Tasmania, Lorenzo approached the project not just as an illustrator but as an independent IP rights holder. He granted a licence for the copyright (authors’ rights) of his illustration for the Italian market only, anticipating that the novel would soon travel beyond national borders. This clever decision ensured that he could negotiate directly with foreign publishers as the book expanded internationally.
Working with Einaudi’s iconography office helped smooth the process. “They know my work very well”, Lorenzo explains, “and they are used to managing international IP rights every day.”
This structure allowed him to set his own licensing fees based on each publisher’s scale: print run, formats, and distribution reach. Smaller publishers could acquire the rights at a reasonable price, supporting both access and visibility..
A particularly interesting twist came from Einaudi’s own design team, who proposed the idea of dividing the artwork into four blocks for the cover layout.
Lorenzo’s original illustration became part of a shared creative asset, where rights were clearly defined: his exclusive copyright for the illustration, Einaudi’s for the graphic arrangement.
This distinction gave both parties flexibility to license their respective contributions, an excellent example of how IP enable collaboration.
When the Tasmania cover travelled abroad, not every market used it in the same way. The Japanese edition, for instance, introduced an obi jacket (a paper band typical of Japanese books) that partially covered Lorenzo’s artwork.
Initially, this posed a problem, as it hid a key portion of the image. But rather than resist, Lorenzo collaborated with the Japanese designers to adapt the layout.
The final result was not only respectful of the original but also visually inventive. “The Japanese edition designer came with this very smart and beautiful layout, wrapping around the illustration vertically to try to solve the issue while giving this new creative twist to it. They asked for my approval, and I was very pleased with the result, to the point I may like it more than the original!” he recalls “To make things work perfectly I had to create the parts of the image that were behind the white gutters in the original layout, but it was absolutely worth it”.
For him, localisation was not a compromise but a way to enhance the dialogue between cultures, showing how flexibility in licensing can lead to artistic growth and new audiences.
Lorenzo’s approach to IP is pragmatic. For foreign editions, he typically negotiates a one-time licensing fee per format (e.g. print, eBook, audiobook) and print run. By breaking down the pricing structure, publishers can expand usage over time without overcommitting at the start. This keeps negotiations fluid and relationships positive.
When the artwork is part of his own original IP, such as his books or comics, the business model changes entirely, and royalties and long-term copyright licensing become the focus.
These recurring rights ensure ongoing income from the copyright of his adaptations, reprints, and derivative works. It is a delicate balance between control, flexibility, and opportunity. He explains it best: “Selling rights for reprints, international editions or adaptations creates income that lets me focus on finishing new artwork. It keeps creativity sustainable.”
Through years of experience, Lorenzo has learned that IP is not merely a legal safeguard, it is the infrastructure that allows art to travel, generate value, and evolve.
Beyond traditional IP issues, Lorenzo is also one of the few artists to speak publicly about the threat of generative AI to creators’ rights. As an advisor to EGAIR (European Guild for Artificial Intelligence Regulation), he has been actively engaging with European institutions to raise awareness of contractual clauses that attempt to appropriate artwork for AI training.
He has seen alarming examples: competitions and publishing contracts that, hidden in small print, require artists to grant rights for machine learning purposes. For him, these clauses are legal absurdities. “AI licensing should always be covered by a dedicated contract, never slipped in as a secondary clause”, he underlines. His advocacy for protecting creatives’ works against AI underscores a crucial message for younger artists: vigilance. Understanding the fine print and refusing exploitative terms is now an essential part of professional practice.
Lorenzo believes that IP is not only about defending work. It is about expanding creative horizons.
Licensing, collaborations, and adaptations are ways to transform a single artwork into new experiences. His experiences confirmed that deals create a network of new collaborations which help to discover new markets, meet new people, and grow artistically.
When his comics are adapted into films or animations, he witnesses this transformation firsthand: moving from the solitude of a drawing desk to the synergy of a team. “You see your work through other artists’ eyes, and it becomes something larger than yourself”, Lorenzo explains with his eyes shining.
“Being able to develop an original IP into different mediums and markets is one of the most amazing aspects of my work as a creative, and it's a perfect blend of a powerful tool and a goal to strive for, it really pushes you to go beyond your limits” he says.
Lorenzo’s story is a testimony to the power of informed creativity. Clear contracts, awareness of rights, and strategic licensing have allowed him to sustain his independence while collaborating with major cultural institutions. But, his journey also highlights a broader message: that artistic integrity and business acumen are not opposites, but partners. Intellectual property rights are not just about legal protection—they're a creative and professional enabler.
By mastering both, Lorenzo has built a career that thrives across mediums and borders: a living example of how creativity flourishes when its rights are respected.
Images: Courtesy of Lorenzo Ceccotti
This Case Study was created under Creative FLIP, an EU co-funded project aimed at further increasing the long-term resilience of the CCSI in key areas such as Finance, Finance, Learning, Working Conditions, Innovation & Intellectual Property Rights.
Key Takeaways
• Clear intellectual property (IP) rights allocation enables collaboration and mutual benefit between artists and publishers.
• A solid IP licensing approach safeguards your creative work in the market and makes your revenue streams sustainable.
• Awareness of AI-related clauses is vital for protecting IP rights in the digital age.
• Strong IP literacy empowers artists to negotiate confidently and sustain long-term careers.
Lorenzo Ceccotti (LRNZ) is a visual designer and artist, member of the SUPERAMICI collective and co-founder of EGAIR, European Guild for AI Regulation. He is a multidisciplinary creative and works in several fields of visual art and communication. In addition to his creative work, Lorenzo is an activist in the AI regulation field, focusing in having artists’ rights respected by general purpose generative AI providers.
