Copyright
Out of context: Reply #8
- Started
- Last post
- 13 Responses
- gramme0
What hellobotto said. Something to consider about work for hire though, is that if you don't sign any sort of NDA or non-compete, they can't legally stop you from showing work you've done at that company. Sure, they own the copyright. And of course the smart thing is to ask for permission anyway, and be clear about the role you played. But if that doesn't fly and it's worth your while to burn the bridge and show the work anyway, then you're in the clear legally, despite being open to a lawsuit and eternal hatred from the employer. One has to show work to get work, and I think it's unethical for employers to hamstring a designer's ability to get work. In most cases though, it's not worth the company's time and money to take you to court.
Regarding copyrights with clients, I don't give them away. They're not for sale. That's just my personal policy. My clients own any verbiage in a piece of visual communication that refers to their products and services; but what you see – the design concept and the way it's executed – those belong to Metagramme. I negotiate in a lot of areas, but not this one. And I don't take on work where the client would never allow the piece to be shown. Temporary NDAs are fine, even common.
If someone does freelance work for me, I retain the copyright but welcome the free advertising that comes from them showing the work in their portfolios, online or in print. I think it's selfish, shortsighted, and unreasonable when firms try to prohibit people from showing work they've done. The only caveat would be if there was a client NDA in effect, e.g. a project which can't be publicly displayed until it goes live.