#Ownership of graphics?
7 messages in this thread
I was wondering, if I do some renderings for somebody and I want to use them in
my portfolio, do I need to have them sign a release or is it ok.
Thanks Kim
<<I was wondering, if I do some renderings for somebody and I want to use them
in my portfolio, do I need to have them sign a release or is it ok.>>
It depends on the terms of your contract. If you are a freelance
independent artist then you legally own the works you create and
therefore the copyright. Though you may find that most clients want
to retain the copyright to the final works. In this case you sign
over the right to the client.
You could include a clause in your contract allowing you the right to
use the works for promotional purposes. This would allow you to use
the renderings for you portfolio.
David "Squeezing the stress ball" Gould
<<If you are a freelance independent artist then you legally own the works you
create and therefore the copyright.>>
What if the animation I create contains a company's copyrighted image?
I turned a company's plain, 2D logo into a slick 3D flying logo. The
work I did was far from trivial, but since it's based on their
artwork, does the freelancer's ownership still apply?
Scott,
You'd need permission first. Particularly if it were a trademarked
logo. In either case, it represents the company, and you should have their
permission to re-use it for any of your purposes.
Kevin Krell – Computer Support Associates
<<What if the animation I create contains a company's copyrighted image? I
turned a company's plain, 2D logo into a slick 3D flying logo. The work I did
was far from trivial, but since it's based on their artwork, does the
freelancer's ownership still apply?>>
Copyright law gives the company the explicit right to copy the logo. If you
copy the logo in any form and use it for commerical return(there are other
infringement critiera) then the company has the right to claim compensation.
You would be best to ask the company for permission to use their logo.
I assume that you are doing an animation for the company? Are you a freelance
animator? If this is correct then without having an explicit contract you own
the rights to the animation you produce BUT the company still owns the
copyright to the logo.
An animation containing a copyrighted work, in this case a logo, is no
different from someone writing a book and including some copyrighted text. In
both cases the works included are copyrighted and therefore you have to abide
by copyright law.
I suggest you get permission from the company, or even better in your contract,
stating that the animations you make can be used for promotional purposes(this
would appear to be the only reason why you would want to reproduce the
animation in another form).
This is simply my understanding so if there is a lot at stake then I suggest
you seek legal help.
David "Lego logo is no go" Gould
Precisely… I am a freelance animator (among many other things). I will make
sure that it gets stated that I can use it for my self-promotion, although any
promoting I'd do with it so far looks like just putting it on demo reels to
show other potential clients, as opposed to making money directly off of their
animated logo. Although, it might be good for me to distribute smaller versions
in the forums here… Hmmm – I've got a lot to learn about copyright laws.
-Scott
Hi Kim,
As much as I know YOUR work is YOURS, but if you model a customers work, policy
demands to ask him. If you use input from your customer (ACAD DXF's or else)
it's quite difficult, but my experience told me, that mostly it's no problem to
use it by yourself (with approval from your customer) even some of them
requested a delay to be first on market, what (in my opinion) is only fair, for
he pays for it.
Bye
Michael