Why Every Designer Needs a Lawyer

Why Every Designer Needs a Lawyer

If you’re a designer, you’ve undoubtedly pushed out many of your personal creative projects online. In all likelihood, you’ve spent a lot of your time and hard work to create designs that affect others in a profound manner. All you ask for is recognition and credit for your creative expression — yet what happens if somebody claims your work as their own?

This is, by and large, a huge fear for many designers. Whether you’re a graphic designer, a web developer or a UI/UX artist, it can be a flagrant offense when others steal your intellectual property. What you should know: you can legally protect your creative property. By partnering with the right lawyer, you can grant yourself peace of mind.

All designers are defined by the content they produce and when something as subjective as ‘creativity’ comes into play, it can become a breeding ground of legal issues. Take a look at Apple and Samsung’s patent lawsuit: after Apple had initially won the lawsuit in 2014, its victory was overturned on Samsung’s appeal.

Designers need their own contracts and their rights protected above all. Here’s how a lawyer can help you with all of that:

A lawyer can draft a contract tailored to your needs

Prior to entering any agreement between yourself and a client, a lawyer would urge you to prepare a contract. This contract exists as a formal legal document that both you (the designer) and your client are blinded to. The client must understand that before they acquire your services and commission you, the contract is there to protect your rights. Especially when time is of the essence, a lawyer will help you draft a contract based on the context of your needs and requirements even under the pressure of time constraints.

A lawyer saves you time and reduces your risks

In most — if not, all — contracts, a proper contract will have the designer’s terms and conditions included in it. This is to create transparency and clarity between both parties. Your terms of services are another layer of protection for your and your creative property. Undoubtedly, you’ve come across other businesses’ or designers’ individual terms and conditions and they’re seemingly filled with legal jargon. You might be tempted to find a terms and conditions template and substitute your name in, but it may not give you the customization and proper protection you need. Instead of putting yourself through the risk and hassle, a lawyer grants you the security that your terms and conditions are done the right way.

Lawyers help designers understand their rights

It’s important to distinguish the difference between selling your work and selling your rights. While both reward you with your livelihood, only one protects your copyright. In the harsh reality of the world, companies can and will discretely add clauses to contracts that abolish your rights to your work. Without any experience, a designer can negligently gloss over the fact. A lawyer can help you identify these clauses, and can then proceed to either have the clause removed or, in the very least, have its scope mitigated. As a designer, it’s important you protect your brand as much as your intellectual property.

Hiring a lawyer is the smartest investment you’ll make. Not only will you grant yourself peace of mind, but you’ll free up your time from handling the legalities of your profession. You’ll have more time to focus your energy towards your passion, rather than redirecting it towards the constant worrying of protecting your intellectual property.

Written by Daza Design

Daza Design is an online design agency that provides website, logo, and print design services. Their top-notch services have helped clients in a wide range of industries. They love all things design. It’s what they do from pixels to print.

You can reach Daza Design at:

Tel: (213) 674-0048

Email: team@dazadesign.com 

Do Celebrities and Public Figures Need an Event Confidentiality Agreement?

In this age of smart phones with cameras, instagram, twitter, tumblr and the like, anyone who wishes to plan and hold a private event must take extraordinary actions in the planning stages, or settle for the fact that all activities at the event will end up as 140 character tweets or Instagram posts. Planning starts with the very first vendor, whether it is a venue, caterer or photographer. Many caterers and event planners "for the stars" already incorporate confidentiality provisions within their own contracts, but what about the vendors who do not? How will you ensure that those supposedly trusted business people do not intentionally or unintentionally disclose private details that you require remain confidential? How about the staff hired for the day of the event? Most importantly, what about the many guests who will attend, cell phones in hand, one finger constantly on the SEND button?

One could rely on the good faith of the staff and guests.  However, if you plan an event to be out of the public eye and rest your faith on good faith of others, you will be in for a mighty disappointment. People are people. Even the guests who are themselves public figures want to capture moments and be in the limelight.

So, what can be done?

You can engage a lawyer to draft a confidentiality agreement specific to your event and circumstances that all guests and vendors will sign. You will then need to figure out how and when each attendee will sign such an agreement, and whether use of electronics will be restricted or banned altogether. You will need to make sure each person does sign such an agreement and that all attendees are accounted for. The lawyer will need to work with security staff hired for the event and, most importantly, the lawyer must maintain controls over his or her law office files so that the law firm’s own employees do not inadvertently come across confidential information.

Call us to discuss what we can do to help ensure that your event remains confidential. We have worked with security staff and executive assistants and drafted agreements both for the planning stage and on the day of an event. Our small office and use of electronic communications lessen the risk that any client information gets into the wrong hands. We will go the extra mile to help you feel confident that you are doing all that you can to make the day special. We are Maryland lawyers but we will find and work with local counsel if your event is outside of Maryland.