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Vector File Ownership

3Dsigns

3Dsigns

New Member
If you designed and built a detailed dimensional sign for a municipality, and there are still three other signs just like it which they want it to match, then 10 years later the sign gets destroyed and the client asks you to quote on building another but it is going to be quoted by two other companies.. Because of the detail, it is highly unlikely that anyone else "bidding" the job can duplicate it exactly;. What do you do if the client or the winning bidder asks for your vector file/s?
 
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2B

2B

Active Member
Production files are proprietary and are NOT sent.

If they need to know how to make the sign, they can figure it out by reverse engineering what is left of the sign.
if you want to be "nice" you can send them the initial proof, which should have some details/specs about the sign.
 
Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
Creating and building a sign(s) are not really copyrighted items. There are only so many ways something can be accomplished and like mentioned prior, they can figure that out by looking at the old destroyed one, unless it doesn't exist anymore. In that case, someone should create a spec sheet, so everyone's bids are created equal. As for handing over your files, I would not do that for anyone, other than a very low res jpeg...... and make sure it can't be duplicated in any way.
 
WildWestDesigns

WildWestDesigns

Active Member
Ideally, this would have been handled in the contract before the job was done the 1st time around. That avoids a lot of conflicts like this.

Having said that, if I'm commissioned for a physical good, my contract is complete once I hand over that physical good (or it transfers to the other party in some way). That's it. Nothing else goes to the client unless specified in the contract. No stitch files, no stl/g-code files, no vector files.
 
C

ColorCrest

All around shop helper.
3Dsigns said:
What do you do if the client or the winning bidder asks for your vector file/s?
Click to expand...
You simply have a choice of charging a "file transfer" fee or not. Most likely another sign company will just recreate the design the best way they know how. Not copyrightable since the design serves as a utilitarian purpose anyway.
 
T

thesignpost

New Member
[
3Dsigns said:
If you designed and built a detailed dimensional sign for a municipality, and there are still three other signs just like it which they want it to match, then 10 years later the sign gets destroyed and the client asks you to quote on building another but it is going to be quoted by two other companies.. Because of the detail, it is highly unlikely that anyone else "bidding" the job can duplicate it exactly;. What do you do if the client or the winning bidder asks for your vector file/s?
Click to expand...
Look at this article attached, I think it sums it up.
 

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Gino

Gino

Premium Subscriber
That story from Mark is all well and good, but from an emotional standpoint, more than a business standpoint. Had this whole issue of who owns said artwork was discussed and signed off on in the beginning, none of this would hafta take place 10 years later. No one.... and I mean NO ONE will ever get our working files. They didn't get them in the day when it was all hand-painted and they won't get them now in this digital age. My working files work on my computer and mine alone. All others will hafta pay me to re-create something they can use, other than our proprietary files.
 
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