recently updated
|
 |
Stephen Faust
said:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TrackBack URI for this entry
 |
As unfortunate as it is, I do think they have the right to ask you to stop using it. If you are using it to promote yourself to get more work, it can be considered a form of advertising and thus is for profit and a commercial use. It's a gray line and untested in the courts from what I understand, so it can be a slipper slope to try to prove self promotion is not a commercial or for profit use. You could fight it and possibly win, but you could also loose, and in either case, it will be expesive. Seeing how you are now on their radar, your choice is to comply, ignore them and hope they go away, or have your lawyer respond with why are feel you are right in using it. The first is the only one that won't cost you anything. To avoid this in the future, make sure there is a clause in your contract that allows you to use anything produced for self promotional purposes. Then if you get a cease and desist letter, you can point to the clause the client signed. If the client wants to eliminate that clause, you can negotiate that upfront and not after receiving a attorneys letter. Stephen Faust Commercial Photographer http://www.StephenFaust.com |
Michael Durwin
said:
 |
Update: This is really starting to suck. Kabbalah's attorney's contacted me again, (after reading this blog) this time demanding all materials related to the project. What am I supposed to do, turn over my software, computer, paperwork, source files? I didn't sign a contract with them, I signed one with their vendor. It said I would give them animations, not source files. What's worse is their demand for all materials related to the project. First of all I'm not sure what that means. I'm assuming all of the video, graphic elements and 3D objects I used for it. The problem is that except for the images and video I used, which was provided by the company that hired me, I either created some things from scratch or used the library of materials I had already created for my self or other projects. Back when I was in college we had an assignment to create a 3D Earth. I've been tweaking it ever since, each time I got a client that wanted a planet Earth in their video. Why should they have a right to that? I created a prism as a way to experiment with creating realistic light, background textures for 2D and 3D work, etc. They shouldn't automatically have the right to all of those materials. Otherwise every time a graphic artist created something on their own, and used it in some fashion in a piece, they'd lose it forever. I wonder how deep this goes. I offered to sell the source files way back, but they weren't interested. I warned them that they wouldn't be able to do much with them without the appropriate third party plugins I bought for my various software, having the same software versions, same fonts, etc. I certainly can't provide those, then I'd be breaking another law, reselling a software companies product that is licensed only to me. What rights do graphic artists have? Do our clients have the right to learn the tricks that make us so unique? Source files can certainly reveal that. What about tricks that have nothing to do with source files? Can they demand to be told how you accomplished a certain look so they can replicate it without having to go through the trouble of paying you? The lamest part of this is that I gave them a ridiculously cheap price for what turned out to be alot of work because they are a non-profit religious group. Obviously they are no different from any corporation. I was never even contacted by Kabbalah themselves, they sent a whole BIG TIME NEW YORK law firm. Obviously some of that non-profit money is going somewhere. It's a shame that a religious group who claims to be so enlightened, who tells you to think happy thoughts to be a happy person, to share the light so to speak, has so many hang-ups about copyright infringement. Imagine that Catholic Church suing a tattoo shop because the artist gave someone a tattoo of Jesus? Imagine a synagogue suing someone for reminding others to "Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you", or "You shall not covet thy neighbors house", or "Though shall not steal". I did politely ask them if they minded if I kept this situation public. I'm sure there are many designers and artists that could learn a thing or two from the situation. For starters: non-profits are just like everyone else. And, as Steve said above, don't assume you have the right to show work in a portfolio, even though my interpretation, as well as many other artists and their lawyers, make sure you get it in righting that you have the right to show the work. Speaking of which, to Steve's point above about showing your work to get more business could be construed as making a profit, I don't work as a freelancer anymore. I work for an agency. Having samples of my work on a portfolio site is just a way to say "I'm an artist, see what I can do". |
Jeremy Schultz
said:
 |
Kabbalah does not obtain the right to your work and materials, especially since your contract stipulates as such. This disagreement with the YouTube videos does not allow them to break their contract and steal your work or photos, etc. you paid for. First of all, if you don't have an attorney you should probably get one—ask them if they can handle it for a small amount of money, because something like this can be resolved with a couple phone calls if you don't plan to press the matter. I had an incident where a previous employer gave me rights to show my work, then I bought a domain later in life that they thought they had rights to and threatened a lawsuit and rescinded my rights to show the work. The work didn't mean anything to them but they refused any compromise just to be vindictive. But later someone told me that as creators we always have the right to show our creations in the context of a portfolio or other method to sell our talents to customers. I've never went to a lawyer to ask if this is actually true. |
Selected Bloggers
The Joneses Day 45: All Good Things... ...by Bjort Productions
DVD review: Doomsday
by nickbeef
The Joneses Movie Poster ...
by Bjort Productions
Call/Email Mass. Senate President Therese Murray a ...
by chuckslavin
New Guide Listings
 Stephen Faust Category: Talent (Individuals) Created: Apr 8, 2008 |
 Miele Law Group Category: Copyright and Legal Created: Apr 8, 2008 |
 www.itsourmovie.com Category: Online Video Competitions Created: Apr 8, 2008 |
 Christopher Seufert Category: Location Services and Facilities Created: Apr 8, 2008 |
| Show more... |
