What documents should you demand from your web designer?

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If your web designer adds images to the site, what documentation should you demand from him/her to prove the image is ok to be used freely?

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In reply to What documents should you demand from your web designer?

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Depending on where the image came from

In reply to What documents should you demand from your web designer?

If it was an image that you own copyright from it would be fine for you to just be able to prove that you own the image.

If they have found the image some other means you must demand that they supply some sort of agreement from the owner of the image that you are able to use it. For a recent site I have built I wrote out some documentation on the lines of:

“The below image is able to be used by the company x on their website which is located at y.”

I also included a copy of the image on the documentation and got them to sign this. This should be done for all images that you do not own.

I hope this is what your looking for

Is this still Riddick-related?

In reply to What documents should you demand from your web designer?

You seem to have a heavy interest in this.

Firstly, it is really the designer’s problem if they commit infringement, but this doesn’t keep you out of court, unless Riddick files in a jurisdiction where they have a clue.

If you want CYA documentation, I suggest that you get a commitment in writing stated that the designer will not use infringing materials. You can ask also for the provenance of any image or graphic included in the delivered product. The designer should be able to state exactly where the graphic came from, and what licensing is attached.

For example, if the designer got the image from a clip-art CD licensed for commercial use, but Riddick bought out that company later, Riddick can’t make claims against the clip-art.

Not Riddick…but a legit company

In reply to Is this still Riddick-related?

It’s Masterfile, not Riddick, in this case. Masterfile is by all appearances, legit, and has won a few higher profile (or at least large sum) cases.

I’m wondering, should we hold the 3rd party designer (and the company he works for) responsible for any infringement that might be proven? So far they’ve been of no help. No backup of the site (it was made over 6 years ago), the designers are responsible for picking the images and of course, he doesn’t remember where he got them from.

Correct reading of the law makes the designer responsible

In reply to Not Riddick…but a legit company

If the designer cannot prove legitimate use of the images, it is his company’s problem. Again, it seems that not all courts grok this, but if you are taken to court, or need to make a settlement, I’d definitely involve the web design company.

Masterfile, or Riddick for that matter, may be legitimate, but that does not make them any less a copyright troll. They can ask you to remove infringing content from your site, but if they want a settlement, or “damages”, they need to deal with the entity which has committed the possible infringement.

For you, be able to prove who produced the content. Masterfile should be able to tell you in what formats and products the image was made available, and the copyright reference numbers for the images.

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