Rights to FLAs
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- 19 Responses
- heavyarms
Do you generally give your clients the FLAs and PSDs after you complete a site?
- ldww0
no, unless it was expressly stated in the contract (and i would have charged more if the contract had that)
- Mimio0
No way.
- mrming0
Not unless it was agreed in advance and is in the contract. Having said that many clients wouldn't know what a FLA was if it set fire to their shoes so it's probably worth explaining the conceot of source files at the start of the job.
I would normally make sure they understand that they need the source files in order to make certain changes to the design and charge them extra if they want them.
- heavyarms0
In my contracts it say that they don't get the source files and that if they want them they have to pay extra. This old corny client (I hadn't heard from in 10 months) with this really corny business idea was asking me for them recently.
I guess they don't have much $ at the moment and someone they know that knows 'computers' can maybe 'get a copy' of Flash and 'maybe' change some pics in them because they dont want to pay for the pics they selected anymore or for me to change them.I told her last week it's in the contract I don't normally give them out but I'll look for them and send them to her. In this time I've been really busy with interviews, work, projects, planning to move, etc. She leaves a message last night saying she's talked to other web designers (that computer guy) and he said I have to include those in the CD I gave her. She was thraetening that if I didn't get the CD to her by Friday she is going to talk to her lawyer and take legal action against me. What a moron! I was giving them to her to be nice but now I want to be an ass and say forget it I'm not giving them to you.
I still may give them to her but I would at least like to make her sweat a bit, let her know that I'm not intimidated and don't appreciate her threats.
- jevad0
"I still may give them to her but I would at least like to make her sweat a bit, let her know that I'm not intimidated and don't appreciate her threats. "
too fucking right - silly bitch...threats are a surefire way to piss people off
- ********0
be rid of them - burn a CD and whipe your brain clear from their nonsense
- ldww0
i wouldn't give them to her after that. but i am an ass like that.
- WWVC0
Dont give it man, period!!! Dont!!
At the company here we do always charge an additional 25% of the total projectcosts extra iff they do want to have our source for their project. Good luck!
- heavyarms0
Thanks for the responses. Luckily theres not much in the code I even care about releasing. The real problem would be to have an FLA with a lot of code or even worse code inside modular movie clips that some lame hack could copy and paste and reuse. I don't want my reasearch and development time being used to teach some hack to compete with me.
- ********0
depends on how the contract was signed. I for sure do not unless they specify this in the first draft of a contract. I use this to make more money, so does the company I work for.
- heavyarms0
Thanks. I would love to hear more opinions.
This is not really related to the contract as it goes into in depth explanation (and clearly states the terms of ownership) but does anyone know the exact meaning of the word 'rights' in this sense?
Does it mean that they don't have ownership or just dont have the right to copy, distribute, sell, share, etc?
- unfittoprint0
fuck no.
or
obfuscate the code.
wich is [almost] the same.
- ********0
I timebomb my clients with a spiker .dll. Their site shuts down unless they pay up in full! :)
- unfittoprint0
JazX u da man!
let me google for "flash swf virus total client anihilation".
- gekkokid0
no not at all - should be in the requirements definition and in the terms of work contract
- ********0
T____ you got that right! haa haa, don't you remember someone bringin' this up long ago and we went crazy? hehehe ;)
- Geith0
Of course. They own it. They paid you for it. It is theirs.
Why the hell would you want to keep it anyway?
But, I only send it if they ask for it.
- industry730
NO, NO, NO, NO,
but make sure it is clearly stated in the contract, that #1 all source Files (PSD, FLA, raw images, etc) belong to you and that they are only purchasing a finished product.
- olli1010
Yeah - it's usually in the contract near the warnings for land mines that usuall state something like "You hereby agree that upon completion all property both electronic and other belong to XXX company, and thus agree to all transfer of rights, blah blah blah" -
The only tricky thing is that I've seen some bigger companies reject designers who won't agree to the terms and then just go to someone else.
Good choice? Bad Choice? That's up for debate. Depends on how desperate you are for work, I guess?