Artwork: Who Owns It?

Marlene & Co. Policies

1. Concept Design

All concepts developed in order to produce a design are the copyright of Marlene & Co. The client has the right to use the final product only, not the concepts developed along the way. The concepts developed to create one final piece is the Intellectual Property (IP) of Marlene & Co.

2. Digital and Print Artwork

The digital artwork (the working/source files) belong to Marlene & Co. The working/source files contain expertise, the ‘know-how to’ of putting together all the pieces that make up a design. Giving away working files means giving away our Intellectual Property (IP).

The client has the right to use the final product, usually a Page Description File (PDF). But it’s important to understand that PDFs are not working files.

When you request artwork, you engage Marlene & Co. to provide a solution to a specific marketing problem or need. If you also want to access the working files, that can be arranged for an additional fee.

If you need the working files for your artwork…

If you need the working files for the design commission, please advise us in advance that you’d like the working files as well as the completed product, and we can then charge you accordingly. An extra fee is charged for giving away the working files, and is usually 100% of the artwork fee (guide only).

Websites

When a site is done using a Free Open Source application, ie: Shopify, WordPress; the client is paying for the expertise of putting the site together, but not really paying for the application that runs the website. All free open source applications are that: FREE for the world to use! So neither the client nor the web developer can claim ownership of the systems used to run the site.

If a client is paying for a custom-made web or Mobile Application then, the copyright remains with Marlene & Co. but the client gets exclusive or limited rights to use it. This can be changed by on a job-by-job basis and will be outlined scope of works, signed off by the client.

In the case of the Website Design, the design can be based on a template or custom made exclusively for the client.

For more information on Websites and Copyright, visit the Australian Copyright Council website.