copyright infringement law
Las Vegas, NV
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Posted 11 months ago in Copyright Infringement
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copyright abuse:
I made a logo and the design for two pages that are going to be published in a famouse directory book and webpage. Since I dont have a graphic designer license they refuse to pay me for my work. My designs are going to be published/uploaded soon. How can I claim my work? Can I call the directory to stop the publicacion of my work?
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The designs I made are for an auto insurance agency. The owner asked me to do them but there's not a contract signed by any of us. He his taking advantage of my designs to use them in the directory book. Answers (3)Mario Sergio Golab
This attorney is licensed in Florida.
Posted 11 months ago.
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If you are the creator of the logo and design, you are the owner of the (C) of the work, unless there is a contract that specifies the contrary or an employment relationship in which your function is to design the artwork.
You do not have to have a license to create, have a specific age, religion or number of limbs, only to the the creator. You should register he copyright with the copyright office, and if and when the use your creation sue them for (c) infringement. You can also send a notice with the copy of your registration to the host of the site and ask prompt removal, they should know better than to comply within a day or two. Regarding payment of your work, sue the in small claims court. You do not even need a lawyer for that. Good luck and keep designing. Barry Neil Shrum
This attorney is licensed in New Jersey and 2 other states.
Posted 11 months ago.
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Mr. Golab is correct that you do not need to have a "graphic designer license" in order to be considered the creator of the copyright. The question here is whether the insurance agency commissioned the work for use in the directory. If the answer to that question is "yes," then your design may, in fact, fall under the defintion of "work for hire" in the Copyright Act (see the link below). That definition states that "a work for hire is . . . a work specifically ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work." A collective work is further defined as "a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology, or encyclopedia, in which a number of contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole." Therefore, your creation may fall under the work for hire statute regardless of whether you are an employee or whether or not there is a contract. If the work was not commissioned by the insurance agent specifically for the compilation, then Mr. Golab is correct, you should file a copyright registration and simultaneously send a cease and desist demand to the agency and the publisher(s).
Danial Alan Nelson
This attorney is licensed in Colorado and 1 other state.
Posted 6 months ago.
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The below does not constitute legal advice, does not form an attorney-client relationship, and should not be relied upon to take or refrain from taking any action.
Just make sure you register copyright in your work. You can do so electronically at www.copyright.gov. While registration is a prerequisite to suit, pre-infringement registration is a prerequisite to certain damages under the Copyright Act.
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