Benjamin

I created a logo, this logo was ultimately not used and now the client has a new shinny logo in their site, still, as it is my costume, I used the logo I created for them and posted it on LP, Creattica and other inspiration galleries.

Now the problem is that the client found out and they want me to remove it because it was rejected, now, with this I assume they want it removed because it has their name on it, since the mark wasn’t used I own it, but the name I do not.

What to do? Can they do that?

Help please, they are a bit edgy.

Regards.

I’m glad to help any way I can. Thanks for sharing your contract bookmarks — I will check them out. I’m sure they’ll come in handy!

All the best,

Fred

The U.S. Copyright Office has a website which is a great source of information on copyright law:

http://copyright.gov/

It’s well written, with lots of examples, so that non-lawyers like us can make sense of it.

There’s also a lot of commentary on copyright law elsewhere on the web, through various professional organizations (e.g., photography).

Fred

I’ve been studying copyright law on my own as it pertains to photography. I’m starting my own web design business and will be providing my own commercial photography to enhance my web designs, so I wanted to understand who has the rights to what under the law.

Since you were not paid, you were not an employee of the nonprofit, nor can this be considered “work made for hire.” That means unless you explicitly transferred the copyrights for your artwork to the nonprofit in a formal written document, you own the copyright to your own artwork. By default, the copyright goes to the creator of the work, as Jacob said.

As the artist, you also have “moral rights.” This means that anyone who uses your artwork is obligated to use it in a way which does not degrade its artistic qualities or injure your professional reputation. This part of copyright law applies to art installations, but the way your art is being used could, in some sense, be considered art installations — at least in spirit. I’m not a lawyer, so don’t take my word for it, but I believe this is the essence of “moral rights.”

What the nonprofit’s web designer likes or dislikes is totally irrelevant. You own the logo — it is your intellectual property. The nonprofit needs your permission to use your intellectual property legally for any purpose whatsoever. If you do not like how your artwork is being used, you have the legal right to object and insist that they abide by your wishes. If they refuse to respect your wishes, you can tell them they are no longer allowed to use your logo. If they continue to use it after you tell them not to, then you can threaten them with copyright infringement. Following up on the threat is another matter, and might prove difficult and expensive without a written contract, formal copyright registration, etc.

My point is that you do have the legal right to give the nonprofit an ultimatum: “Either stop taking liberties with my artwork or I will withdraw my permission for you to use it at all.” You can tell them that if they disregard your wishes, they will be breaking the law by committing copyright infringement. That should be enough to get them to behave.

One last thought: Go over the Project Manager’s head. He doesn’t have the legal authority to overrule anything. Your wishes automatically trump the web designer’s wishes since by law, you own the copyright. Talk to the Executive Director or the Board of Directors. These people will most likely realize that it is in their best interests to respect your generous contribution of time and talent. People who run nonprofits want to build bridges, not burn them. That works in your favor.

Best wishes to you,

Fred Chapman

P.S. I’m not a lawyer, but I play one on TV! :)

I designed a logo for a not for profit org about 12 years ago that is a line illustration based on a landscape view of a community. (It looks like a linoleum cut, within a circle and has type That was redrawn around the circle.) It was meant to be used on stationary only. For the past several years it has been used on lots of different clothing (a whole other issue, awards, etc and now there is a new website. The website designer has taken big liberties with the logo and isolated elements to put in color so they pop out and look strange (like silk screen elements in color) and the logo no longer has the integrity or the look off the orinal logo in which type and line were integrated. The logo is a large standout item on almost every page of the website with this new odd “coloration”. I designed the logo as a donation for the orgamnization, community and have never asked for money even though people that have sold clothes with it on it have made money.

I mentioned to the person managing the project that I didn’t like the liberties taken with the logo and that it should be kept in one color as it was designed to be in. He said the website designer wouldn’t like that and he was going to over rule it. Since it is my artwork (not the website designers) don’t I have the right to request that the integrity of the logo stays in tact and that they follow my specifications? Especially since you say that I own the rights to the logo (which is what I assumed all along) and no money was paid for it.

Would love to hear some opinions.

Bob,
You should refer to your contract, hopefully that you signed before dealing with this designer.

I find i difficult to know what constitute a breach of copyrights of a logo.