customer provided art with possible copyright issues

[BillyBoy86]

I've seen a lot of posts on here about intellectual property and using lifted images, but i was wondering how some of you handle these sort of scenarios.
i have several customers who do their own "design" work.
a lot of times they are simply text and/or their clients logo,
but occasionally i get these full color images that i can probably assume they didn't create.

i guess my question is, if my client sends me art that i doubt they created, how should i handle that?

-Bill

 

[Gino]

Ahhh..... ask them ??

If you're reluctant to do it, cause you being the person who pushes the 'Print Button' it's your hide that will be hung first, then ask for written authorization from the designer. If they give you false written information, there isn't much you can do. If you look at it and know it belongs to someone else, then just turn it down. Just don't do it on a hunch. That could blow relationships right outta the water.

 

[reQ]

You can always google the image and see if it was taken from somewhere else.

 

[BillyBoy86]

i think i'll have to work up a contract or something.

when i ask about where they got images, it's always something like "oh we designed this" or they tell me their designer put it together.

 

[Gino]

i think i'll have to work up a contract or something.

when i ask about where they got images, it's always something like "oh we designed this" or they tell me their designer put it together.

Tell them... 'Poppycock' and explain to them without written authorization, you ain't gonna touch it.

 

[BillyBoy86]

You can always google the image and see if it was taken from somewhere else.

there's one they showed me recently, when i googled it, i didn't find the image they sent. but i've seen their designers ability before and this seems beyond it.

 

[BillyBoy86]

Tell them... 'Poppycock' and explain to them without written authorization, you ain't gonna touch it.

i'm saying poppycock all the time from now on

 

[jfiscus]

Many people are hiring the foreign designers for chicken scratch nowadays. I have had a lot of people who usually use us for design bring in a copy of their "new logo" that they got off some site for $5.... I usually tell them they get what they pay for and then have to explain how the EPS file they supposedly got is some crappy autotrace that we now have to charge them to fix.

 

[BillyBoy86]

Many people are hiring the foreign designers for chicken scratch nowadays. I have had a lot of people who usually use us for design bring in a copy of their "new logo" that they got off some site for $5.... I usually tell them they get what they pay for and then have to explain how the EPS file they supposedly got is some crappy autotrace that we now have to charge them to fix.

yeah i see that here and there as well.

what i'm mostly referring to here though, is i'll get emailed a jpg, which is typically a photo with some text laid on top.
with something like this
"i need this on a sign, how much?"
so now i have a 3" image that they want on a 24" sign, and i'm pretty sure they just pulled the image from some website and added their text

 

[rdm01]

Look at the terms and conditions for many other printers (FedEx, Signs365, etc.). There are ways to protect yourself and leave the liability on the client. I'm sure I could go to FedEx office and have some Ansel Adams photos reproduced without issue. Their terms and conditions absolve them from all responsibility. It leaves it on the client to insure that they are abiding by all local, regional, and federal regulations, copyrights, etc.

It wouldn't be hard to create similar terms and conditions for your shop, perhaps having the client sign.

Now from a responsibility and moral standpoint, if you know they don't have permission, you should refuse to print the work and explain why. The above should be used to cover yourself and your shop so something doesn't sneak through.

 

[CVS]

Internet "Designs"

When I get something like a tiny jpg with text I tell them that it is too small to use and tell them I need the original. Chances are they won't have it, although I have been surprised once in a while by a legitimate file.

 

[Z SIGNS]

If someone gives you artwork to produce a sign who cares if it's copyrighted.
If anyone is going to get into trouble for infringement it will be the person who bought the sign not the one who made it.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

If someone gives you artwork to produce a sign who cares if it's copyrighted.
If anyone is going to get into trouble for infringement it will be the person who bought the sign not the one who made it.

What I would be worried about is "contributory infringement".

 

[Gino]

Regardless of how you word it or try to make it sound justifiable on your end..... if you are the one producing it, you will be named in any and all law suits. We are supposed to either know or refuse to do anything without proper written authority. Things have changed as so many are always pointing out since the computer came on board and into the sign industry.

Years ago, basically no one had the talent to duplicate artwork or art pieces. Logos could be copied, but it wasn't like it is today. Together with the internet and the tools at our disposal, we can make anything for anyone, but we are not supposed to, no matter how you look at it.

You wanna take a chance, go right ahead, but please don't be telling people to just go ahead and see what happens. It's just like counterfeiting. Ya get away with it, til ya get caught.

 

[CanuckSigns]

Regardless of how you word it or try to make it sound justifiable on your end..... if you are the one producing it, you will be named in any and all law suits. We are supposed to either know or refuse to do anything without proper written authority. Things have changed as so many are always pointing out since the computer came on board and into the sign industry.

Years ago, basically no one had the talent to duplicate artwork or art pieces. Logos could be copied, but it wasn't like it is today. Together with the internet and the tools at our disposal, we can make anything for anyone, but we are not supposed to, no matter how you look at it.

You wanna take a chance, go right ahead, but please don't be telling people to just go ahead and see what happens. It's just like counterfeiting. Ya get away with it, til ya get caught.

Exactly how much time should I spend policing my clients? If someone comes into my shop with a Pepsi logo I obvously know to ask for some sort of proof that they can use it, but how do i know if Bob's plumbing owns the right to their own logo or if the designer who made it still owns the copyright? Should I invest in a lie detector for my showroom just to make sure clients are telling me the truth?

Honestly, common sense should apply in these cases, Maybe things are different south of the border in the land of the lawsuit, but I don't view it as my job to be to copyright police for everyone who come through the door.

Take for example an order I just finished for some golf tournament sponsor signs, should I have spent hours contacting all 24 companies to make sure the golf tournament had their permission to use their logos?

 

[solock]

If someone gives you artwork to produce a sign who cares if it's copyrighted.
If anyone is going to get into trouble for infringement it will be the person who bought the sign not the one who made it.

In the photo printing industry this exactly how it DOES NOT WORK.

Ritz, Walmart, and Walgreens have had their collective asses handed to them in court to the tune of millions of dollars in loss plus lawyer fees.

Ive never heard of a lawsuit in the commercial or signage fields but in the photo reproduction arena it is heavily weighted in the dont print if you dont know...

No amount of disclaimer absolves the printer, as cases have said over and over...

 

[Z SIGNS]

Seriously..How many people on this forum have ever ran into copyright issue..Do you even know of, or even heard of anyone getting sued for producing something for someone else ?
If someone is going to get sued it's not going to be the signmaker.Not the person who supplied him.

It's like the guy who builds an illegal structure.Does home depot get sued for selling him the plywood.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

It's like the guy who builds an illegal structure.Does home depot get sued for selling him the plywood.

Not exactly an accurate analogy. Most on here aren't selling inputs, but a finished good.

 

[Andy D]

In the photo printing industry this exactly how it DOES NOT WORK.

Ritz, Walmart, and Walgreens have had their collective asses handed to them in court to the tune of millions of dollars in loss plus lawyer fees.

Ive never heard of a lawsuit in the commercial or signage fields but in the photo reproduction arena it is heavily weighted in the dont print if you dont know...

No amount of disclaimer absolves the printer, as cases have said over and over...

That's probably different, most professional photographers have their registration info on the bottom front of the photo
or middle back side..

If I get art/clipart from a customer, unless I recognize it as copyrighted material or it has a copyright mark, I'm not going to spend time sleuthing out whether or not they
paid the royalties to whatever site they found it on.

 

[HDvinyl]

Honestly, common sense should apply in these cases, Maybe things are different south of the border in the land of the lawsuit, but I don't view it as my job to be to copyright police for everyone who come through the door.

Common sense isn't so common anymore.