SERIOUS advise requested
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- sneeth
k here it is. about 3 years ago we did a 30 second web ad for a gigantic international mutual fund company. it was embedded in emails and sent out to their clients, blah blah. it was actually a pretty nice looking little flash movie. so i am watching tv the other day and they are using pretty much the exact same friggin thing as a tv spot. it is even shitty resolution like they captured it from the web. a few minor details are changed but there are parts of it that are exact. the cheap buggers. we are trying to dig up the contract we had with them, but have not found it yet. i signed off on it as a web ad, not an international (canada/us) tv spot. any advise ? how close does it have to be before we can yell at them ? i am no corporate intellectual property lawyer , but i know how much tv ads cost to make. and they didnt pay us that much. what to do ???
- abizzyman0
eek, man.
get a lawyer - that's my advice.
- brandelec0
was it specified in the contract that its only to be used on the web? or vaguely as an 'ad'?
- 4cY0
you NEED to find the contract first.
or else goodluck.
(if there is any way to prove copyright violations you could try and sue them, but it might be risky..(ie in losing money))
- cosmo0
find contract, and then fuck em.
- sneeth0
we are trying to find the contract, but i have a sinking feeling it was probably vaguely worded in lawyerspeak as "ad".
blarg
- brundlefly0
you are in Canada, if they are an american company you might be in luck....lawsuits in canada, for media related suits are quite a bit behind the states.
find a media lawyer, he might take it on for a percentage.
- brandelec0
i dont know if you have much of a case. because the medium wasn't specified.
you basically have the burden of proof to convice them the job was strictly for web, and if that wasn't specified on the contract, it's gonna be tough.
get advice from a lawyer for sure, because you never know, there could be ways around it.
good luck
- sneeth0
thanks, we just needed to hear the opinion from some other designer types. i just hate getting ripped off by big companies who can afford to pay.
- D70
Before going to a lawyer, simply pick up the phone and call the company.
- brandelec0
'hello, hi, ya, i couldn't help but notice that you guys used that web ad we made for you guys on a tv spot... so um, you guys wanna pay for that? or do you guys have a copy of the contract by any chance? just wondering'
ya, call them first :|
- jpolk0
did a "HUGE" company really sign a contract allowing you to retain intrllectual property of a project? very highly unlikely. they bought it, they can use it for whatever purpose they want.
- jpolk0
intellectual.. oops
- tfs__mag0
yeah... i would tend to agree with jpolk. why would they have you do work for them and then let you retain the rights to the work. i'm not sure how the rest of you guys work, but on the few freelance projects i get, i usually assume that they will go and do what they want with any work i have done for them.
- Mick0
Everything comes down to contracts - if its not it writing its no fight (unless they're breaking the law, eg. a copyright law).
- Mick0
BTW: You can now claim on your portfolio/resume that you designed a TV commercial - nice!
- SoulFly0
It would be interesting for you to find out about Flash cartoons on the web that made into TV, like some from icebox.com, I think it was a cartoon where the story took place on a spaceship, like a spin off of star trek, and later was shown on showtime network. I'm sure the designer never thought their cartoon was gonna made that big, but I'm sure he got compensation for that.
- Graffodisiak0
like it was mentioned...you need to find the contract. BUT if is a well stablished company, most likely you did what is called "work for hire." that means that you don't own the piece, or rights. They can use it for TV, web, print, or for fucking family christmas cards for someone's grandmother.....who gives a shit. you are not getting any more money. You got payed for the services you provided...why would you try to get more money out of it, if they are trying to use it for something else? wtf --- you are making work for big companies, you are a contractor and at the end you don't own the work. they do.
So just take it as a compliment and try to get more work from them. Obviously they are happy with the work you did.
cool