It’s a tricky subject, copyright. Much to clients’ surprise, their work does not automatically belong to them. In fact, agencies own the copyright to all the work they generate, whether the client has paid or not.

Copyright will automatically belong to the creator of the work, unless they:

1: Are creating this work as part of normal employment – in which case copyright will belong to the employer.

2: Have agreed as part of the contract or terms of service to hand over ownership of copyright.

Now, what Spring does to get round this for our clients, is offer them the right to take over copyright once they have paid for their work. Funnily enough although this is written in clear terms on our quotations, only one client has ever asked us to send them formal documentation to this effect – and that was a 14 year old intern for whom we had created a pro bono item. He’ll go far.

So what if clients DON’T ask, or DON’T pay? Well, in effect they have to secure their agency’s permission – a license in effect – for the use of their brand, photography or other item. And clearly if they haven’t paid, this permission will not be granted. If they use the item anyway, the owner of the copyright has the legal right to demand that all copies of offending material be recalled and destroyed.

So, the lesson is:

1. If an agency pitches concepts, and, despite not taking them up on it, a client uses elements of those concepts in the finished piece, the agency has every right to demand payment or pulping
2. Up until the point that bills are paid, it is highly unlikely that an agency will allow use of their items
3. Upon payment of a bill, clients should ask their agency for a copyright transfer or useage license.
4. Wise clients will check what agencies are prepared to surrender, up front.
5. In the event that a client sells their business, the new business owner has no more right to use items than the client did, if those items were unpaid or unlicensed, as it is not an asset of the company.

This is terribly important and often overlooked. We would strongly advise clients to ensure they have covered the issue, and make sure it doesn’t come back and bite them.

Blog Post written by Erika Clegg