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What is the issue?
When you, as a design agency, have supplied completed artwork to your client, what do you do when the client wants your design files also?
The Design world is clearly divided on this, with some believing that they own the intellectual property/concept and production files and the client pays only for the finished product to be supplied. Others will gladly release source files to a client on the grounds that without any agreement prior to work starting, the designer is under a 'Work for Hire' contract, and the client owns the Intellectual Property i.e. design files.
The difficulty is when T&C have been agreed but a client asks for the files anyway. To not share them would certainly lose the client for good, to release them would not guarantee your work would be updated at no further financial compensation to the designer, or placed with another Design Agency who may be cheaper.
Many clients do not realise that fonts used are copy protected and remain the property of the Designer so cannot be supplied. Without fonts, it is not possible for the client to update a file unless it is placed with another agency who has copyright for font use.
With appropriate T&C in place, the client owns the finished result, not the concept or production files. The immediate solution would be to ensure that your Terms and Conditions are agreed in advance no matter which side of the fence you fall on, and to ensure you have in writing, or at least email, confirmaion that the client accepts your T&C.
Things you should agree prior to starting work:
Who owns the concept/production files?
What work will be supplied for the fees paid?
What should happen in the event that the client requests any source files and what additional fees are payable?
When you, as a design agency, have supplied completed artwork to your client, what do you do when the client wants your design files also?
The Design world is clearly divided on this, with some believing that they own the intellectual property/concept and production files and the client pays only for the finished product to be supplied. Others will gladly release source files to a client on the grounds that without any agreement prior to work starting, the designer is under a 'Work for Hire' contract, and the client owns the Intellectual Property i.e. design files.
The difficulty is when T&C have been agreed but a client asks for the files anyway. To not share them would certainly lose the client for good, to release them would not guarantee your work would be updated at no further financial compensation to the designer, or placed with another Design Agency who may be cheaper.
Many clients do not realise that fonts used are copy protected and remain the property of the Designer so cannot be supplied. Without fonts, it is not possible for the client to update a file unless it is placed with another agency who has copyright for font use.
With appropriate T&C in place, the client owns the finished result, not the concept or production files. The immediate solution would be to ensure that your Terms and Conditions are agreed in advance no matter which side of the fence you fall on, and to ensure you have in writing, or at least email, confirmaion that the client accepts your T&C.
Things you should agree prior to starting work:
Who owns the concept/production files?
What work will be supplied for the fees paid?
What should happen in the event that the client requests any source files and what additional fees are payable?
1 comment:
Great post. One worry I have is that by releasing the source files of my designs to a client, I am potentially giving them over to another designer who could then claim my work was done by them.
Can I take any action on this? Say if another designer puts my work onto their own portfolio site?
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