Posted on 02/18/2016 12:23:10 PM PST by EinNYC
I am a pretty new graduate of a graphics design school. I hope to work part-time in this field, which I really enjoy, when I leave teaching.
My first paid client (sort of a friend) recently had me make a political flyer for his current campaign. I used InDesign to make the flyer, as well as Photoshop to tweak the photos he provided me and Illustrator to make some little graphic flourishes. It was a lot of work and took me a lot of time, since I'm new at this and don't have the extreme facility with the myriad of shortcuts a more experienced hand would have. Anyway, I provided him with a PDF in the packaging process for him to have it printed. He told me he thought it was fantastic, his team loved it and then he paid me.
Now, a couple of weeks later, he is asking me for the original ID file. I strongly suspect he wants to muck around with my work himself, as he has that software (but is not graphics trained, from what I've seen), and doesn't want to pay me more. Or one of his "committee", whose graphics taste is quite unprofessional (what they suggested several times would look like what a school secretary would put in a school calendar, and that's probably what they're used to), had a suggestion. I do not feel like having my work, which was a product of my training and in which I take pride, changed from what would be considered good graphic design by my instructors to a nonprofessional mess by these people.
Do I owe him my original ID file? I don't think I do. There was no written contract, just an oral agreement to make him a political flyer, which I did and which he signed off on and paid me for. No particular format (PDF or original file) was stipulated.
Nope.
Unless you signed a contract specifying otherwise.
Give him a Jpeg and be done with it.
Did you have a contract for the work you did? That kind of stuff is normally put into the contract. I do a lot of work for the military and our contracts specifically say that the military owns the rights and source materials that we produce.
If you contracted for the paper copies of the flyers alone, you aren’t obligated to provide your source files unless it’s specifically stipulated in your contract for service.
This can get really tricky. It depends on who owns the rights to the original photos that you used. It is also dependent on the specific language in the contract and your state and local laws.
“Do I owe him my original ID file? I don’t think I do. “
It’s a tough question, esp. since you said the client is 1.) your first client, and 2.) sort of a friend.
It really boils down to whether you expect more work from this “friend” and/or future referrals from this “friend”.
If none of the above for sure, then you could say “Sorry, I nuked it after you signed off on the work” or you could say “My policy is not to give out source code, but I’d be more than happy to make any changes you might have in mind as new work, which will be substantially less expensive since I can use the source as a template.”
give him a copy right .jpg
If they want the original file, I always expect them to pay for it.
This is why as an independent contractor, you always need a contract. Even if it’s just one page, it will clearly define what they are paying for and can expect. In most real-world design transactions, the client will pay for all related materials produced in the process, and this is usually factored into the price and listed as a line item in the contract/statement of work you both sign.
If it’s weeks later, clearly this guy was not expecting everything to be turned over, and only thought of it after the fact, so this is a mistake on both your part and that of your client.
If you’d like to do more business with them, I’d suggest you swallow your pride and give it away this time, and learn from the mistake. You should get used to turning over all of your ID/PS files, with the layers and vectors, etc... intact, as most (professional) clients will expect to have it so they can, in fact, besmirch your masterpiece.
If you do give it away, also let them know (humbly) that you’re being generous, as the terms of turning over the materials weren’t discussed in the oral agreement, and if you guys do any more work together in the future, you’re going to expect additional payment if you’re turning over everything.
Good luck!
Just remember to save the ungrouped objects under a different name and only give the new file. This way your client can't really change the file and the kind of friend won't get totally disgusted.. That's another option.
Never give anyone your original work. That is yours unless he pays you for it and you want to sell it.
The good news is that you automatically own the rights to your designs under U.S. copyright law.
The only exceptions are a) you’re working as an actual employee (not a freelancer) for someone in which case that person or company usually owns the rights or b) you have a contract specifically stating that you’re transferring the rights. Otherwise he only has the implied right to use or print the work as is.
The bad news is that you now have to decide if it is worth damaging your friendship over.
Good luck!
This was an excellent learning experience for me, both from a design standpoint and a nuts 'n bolts standpoint. I really enjoyed it. I hope this latest request of his is not going to lead to bad blood.
If you want a legal answer, hire a lawyer. If you want a practical answer:
Give him a copy of the file, and be more careful with your agreements in the future.
If you tell him to pound sand, he’ll likely badmouth you to other potential clients. Perhaps along the lines (if you are lucky) “I don’t want to go into details. He did nice work, but he’s not someone I’d feel comfortable doing business with in the future.’ or even ‘I did business with him once. I won’t make that mistake again. Proceed at your own risk’.
Not a good way to start out with your business.
Wait a second. The taxpayers are paying to produce this guy’s political campaign flyers?
” make a political flyer for his current campaign.”
“a flyer which could be printed by teachers on their schools’ printers or copiers”
Around here, folks would probably go to jail if they got caught doing that. And if they are unionized teachers involved, better hope you all are liberal democrats, or you might end up going down with him.
If, on the other hand, it’s a non-profit private school and the management approved it, the only concern should be with the IRS.
I think I would just explain to him that if it is not up to professional standards, it would hurt you professionally to be associated with it. If he is a friend, he’ll understand that and not pressure you to give him the original file. Otherwise, he is not your friend, just an unscrupulous business associate, and you owe him nothing more.
Exactly right. Give him the file and keep working. This argument isn’t worth winning and could cost you future business. A very cheap lesson to learn. In addition, let him know that typically you should be paid for the original but you want him to feel special.(wink)
You can have the image of your source file given to him in that format they want rendered unusable for changes.
You convert even the text to objects then ungroup. The school district union employee wanting to mass template your work could see it, high resolution print it from that file but would be screwed trying to change it and could not use it as a template.
I did that myself before.
Took seconds to change it. Not much extra work for you.
Put some meta data in the ID file that contains some info you might construe as being sensitive (your address, etc) and then tell him you would like to share it with him, but it contains proprietary information.
I don’t think you can change a PDF. That is the only form of the document I gave him, so that it could not be changed.
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