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Can I sue a company for using my art work that has not been registered or copywritten?

Asked over 2 years ago - San Jose, CA

So I agreed to accept a contracting job from a company that verbally offered to pay me $500 per project. ( logos, banners, website-concepting, Brochures and print ads). But I made the mistake of not having them sign a contract since a friend from the company hired me on.
Fast forward 2 months later. After working endlessly day and night at times designing art-work for this company. I completed all the mentioned projects above.They use my art-work (brochures, banners, print-ads) at a home audio convention in Colorado. But only to have my friend that worked at the company hand me a FINAL paycheck of only $300 a week after the convention, and to tell me that the company lost more money advertising and that they were shutting it down.
I dont know what to do. I feel as ive been ripped off.

Additional information
The company that hired me on as a contractor was a start-up company that specialized in high-end home audio equipment( which i did the art-work for) but at the same time the owner runs a business that sell and provide security systems. Both business are listed within the same building and workspace. In short, the owner was the owner of both of those business's. And from my understanding. My paycheck( which I still have) was issued under the security system business. So really, one failed. but the other exists. So Should I still take legal action towards the owner even though one of his business's failed?

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Attorney answers (1)

Pamela Koslyn

Reputation Level 20

Answered over 2 years ago. Business Attorney in Los Angeles, CA.

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You weren't hired by the security system business, you were hired by the start up. If these 2 businesses had separate legal identities, you can't now treat them as if there one and the same.

But - you can make a claim against the security system, and/or against the individual who owns both the security sysem company and the start up company, by alleging that each is an "alter ego" of the other, and the owner didn't observe the corporate formalities nad that it would be unfair to treat them as separate legal entities so that the start up can avoid its obligations.

One piece if evidence you have that supports the alter ego allegations is is that your paycheck for work for the start up used a check from the securoty system, which implies that the start up wasn't sufficiently capitalized and didn't have separate finances.

Another helpful fact you've now added is that you haven't cashed the "final" settlement check.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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