Client stole our comps
Out of context: Reply #11
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- nmata0
talk to a lawyer fellas - ideally a corporate lawyer specializing in intellectual properties. once a company has paid you to develop a logo or identity, it is no longer yours. all the self-composed contracts in the world will not convince a judge that your client should pay you for the 'right' to put that logo on busses, signs, hats, brochures or whatever.
it's also important to realize that people's ignorance plays into this ; if a start-up with no money gets a letter from some designer saying 'i saw you using the logo i designed on some mailing labels. i want $xxx for that, because i own your brand and image', they may comply just to avoid paying a lawyer. this does not make it 'legal' or 'right', it just means you found a way to make a quick buck off of someone's desire to avoid legal action.
as for design being 'just like photography', very rarely is a photographic image as big a part of a company's image/brand as a logo. apples and oranges.