Design & Layout work Stolen

[farmfreshads]

Hey guys, new user here. I need some advice. I've been working on a few logos & layouts for a local small business. This afternoon after receiving the quote the customer informed me that I was too high & she was going somewhere else. I informed her that it was easy for someone else to charge less money for signs & banners when all they have to do is open a file & hit print. They have zero time invested in this lady or the work that I've done. Before responding to her email I wanted to ask your advice....Is there anything that I can do to protect the work that I've done? She had a poorly pieced together jpeg logo when we started & I have since totally redone it & have it print ready. Could I tell here that she doesnt have my permission to use any of the work that I created? Should I send her a invoice for the design time? If so, how much? Can she give them the file anyway? Do I have a leg to stand on? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[JoshLoring]

If she already has the actual art file from you.. You've already lost.
Walk away and call it a lesson learned. Take deposits on everything. No money.. No work

 

[OldPaint]

never give THE FILE to a prospective client. if you gave her a print of the design, you shoud have printed across it PROPERTY OF JOS SCHMO'S SIGNS.....and it should have no more the 72 DPI print.
right now....YOURE SOL)))))

 

[binki]

New customer = 100% non refundable deposit up front
Established customer (open to interpretation) = 50% deposit up front

No deposit, no work. It is called qualifying the lead.

 

[Techman]

call the theef and let her know it is your work that made it useable. You expect to get paid. If she don;t like it,, tell her to "KMA"... And make her pay...

 

[signcrafters london]

If you only vectorized her existing logo and gave it to her, I'd bill her for that. If you created something new, I may think about trying to keep her from using it or making her buy it. I doubt you'll be successful in either case, however.

 

[Bly]

If you gave it to her it wasn't stolen, was it?

 

[Rick]

If she already has the actual art file from you.. You've already lost.
Walk away and call it a lesson learned. Take deposits on everything. No money.. No work

 

[Craig Sjoquist]

Ouch

 

[neato]

I feel your pain. I think everyone in the sign biz has been there at one time. This is why I feel strongly that we should never do design work without a deposit. I know in some cases it works well to sell a sign with a nice presentation, but as a rule, it's better to show your past work and use that to sell yourself.

Your time and design expertise are valuable!

 

[visual800]

NEVER send a customer ready to go art. I dont charge art fees but they get low res jpgs from me till its go time.

IF she does take ur art. you could send an email stating thats your art and it was not to be used and try and scare her into paying but she has already proven she is a cheap a$$ so good luck

 

[signage]

Welcome to the sign business world, and to the forums.

 

["Deposit Please"]

..How much should I charge her??? (after the fact) seriously? Why are you designing anything without any form of payment in the first place. Like said, chalk that up as a lesson learned ..... Welcome to the Real World!

 

[Pat Whatley]

Call her and politely explain that you maintain the rights to the files you created and let her know what it will cost her to get them. Especially the logo file.

She's going to scream and pitch a fit and refuse to pay it because you should have explained that before you ever started working on it.

If she uses your files...and your work is distinct enough that you can prove that in court....and you're willing to spend the time to pursue it....then take your chances.

Chances are you've just bought yourself a valuable lesson.

 

[Jillbeans]

No deposit, no design.
Ever. Period.
I don't even turn on my computer or allow myself to even think about someone's layout until I get a deposit.
Love....Jill

 

[Billct2]

You have just learned lesson 1

but yes the files are yours and you can send her an email saying so along with the price if she wants to use them, but good luck trying to actually collect anything if she use them anyhow.

 

[farmfreshads]

Thanks for the advice everybody. I've been in this business for awhile. Guess I've had pretty good luck until now. I'm going to try & see what I can get from her. I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

[TyrantDesigner]

If she already has the actual art file from you.. You've already lost.
Walk away and call it a lesson learned. Take deposits on everything. No money.. No work

This. when you did the initial proof, if they wanted to proceed .. you should have priced right then and there and requested a deposit. (that was non-refundable) ... live and learn I suppose.


oh and if it is her logo ... since she hasn't paid for it ... just let her know you still own the intellectual property of the logo itself ... if she wants to use it, just let her know that she can't trademark it nor can she expect someone else won't have it either ... or that you won't make parody signs based on that logo put around town for awareness for colon cancer research.

 

[jfiscus]

Chalk it up as a lesson learned if a bill for your artwork time (no printing) does not get paid.

In the future, start pricing your artwork time separately from the printing aspects, and/or insert a clause about the artwork time being reduced if the printing is produced by you. We do this for fleet customers, making them understand the one-time artwork setup fee for their first truck, and then their future cost for subsequent trucks being less.

 

[d fleming]

Knowledge does not come cheap, you have to work for it. I'd say with the advice from industry professionals you have received here so far coupled with the sting of giving your work away you have just learned a valuable lesson you will not soon forget. You win.