Non-paying clients and copyright

[womble1]

I won't go into my whole situation because it is very complicated but basically it boils down to the fact I have been screwed by a professional con artist and I need some advice if anyone has any. First of all before you ask, no I didn't have a written contract (just a verbal one). Yes I know not having a written contract was a very VERY BIG mistake but I can't go back and change the past, but I will never make that mistake again. The problem is I was subcontracting to a web design business meaning that I was doing work for them and they were selling it to clients as their company's work. I don't have a problem with that as long as I get paid, but the trouble is they kept finding ways to put off payment. Everything was very amicable but it was obvious I was getting the run around when I decided enough was enough, I wanted to be paid. I gave them an invoice which stated payment was due immediately, stating my hours and the money owed to me. They offered me an insulting amount instead of what they owed me (and pretty much said "take it or leave it") so I said no it was unacceptable and until such time that they paid me the copyright on the work belonged to me and requested they take it down. I think this had them ****ting themselves because I then received another letter which was very demeaning calling me unprofessional and childish, amongst other things, and that I was unwilling to discuss this even though it was them who had the take it or leave it attitude. What I want to know is if it is indeed true that they are infringing on my copyright until they pay, like I have read else where.

This really pisses me off because I have since found out that they have done this to other people and have a bad reputation with other companies in the city. This company grossly undercut others in the city and therefore that's obviously why they want to pay their developers peanuts, if they pay them at all that is. Looking back on it, it is obvious this company has a lot of experience in doing this since the person I dealt with always wanted to discuss most things regarding what work he wanted done and how he wanted it done over the phone...no paper trace that way.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Please don't tell me what I should have done, I know now what I did wrong and feel bad enough about it already. If anyone has any ideas of what I can do now I'd love to hear it.

[Noah_Mercy]

Hello Wimble,

While I don't have the specific answer to your question about copyright infringement, I do have some advice that might help. If the amount is disputed is less than $5,000 you can sue in small claims court in most states. The procedure is relative easy and you can represent yourself and your case without the need of a lawyer. Here in Florida there is a $45 registration fee I believe. I suspect this is your best avenue. Often the subpoena or notice to appear is enough to make them reconsider and compromise. Compromise is likely what you will have to do and would be advisable. It is clear from the attitude of your letter you are angry about this and would like to be retribution. Forget about that and focus on how you can most effective receive SOME payment for your work. Don't throw good money after bad. I mean get too many lawyers involved, spend more time/effort trying to recover than the amount it took to create the web pages, etc...) This is the best advice i can give as an objective party Good Luck!

[Skry]

I'm in agreement.

You have a sorted case for the courts, You have the original design!

A solicitors letter is always an excellent move, especially if the company isn't too large, because they don't want all the hassle of having to go to court. It takes up their time they can be earning and ripping off more people.

Also I put on my invoices:

TERMS STRICTLY NETT 30 DAYS FOLLOWING DATE OF INVOICE.
TITLE TO THE GOODS ON THIS INVOICE WILL NOT PASS UNTIL FULL PAYMENT HAS BEEN MADE TO "your name".

So copyright remains mine until they pay.

[mad clown]

The copyright in the US retains in possession of the author of the work. Copyright changes hand when it is bought. The exception is work for hire, when you are employed by companies (and even then a bad contract can screw a company out of copyright).

You have received no money, thus the copyright is still in your possession.

If you need the money, compromise. If it's happened to mulitple people, track them down then class-action the company that's been screwing you over.

[shaker5638]

Let me start by stating that I am not an attorney. But I did go to school for a Masters in Information Technology Law at John Marshall Law School in Illinois.

The ownership of the copyright ALWAYS rests with the creator of the work unless the creator of the work was an "employee" of the company. There is a concept known as "works made for hire" that categorizes works that people make on behalf of a particular client. These works too are owned by the creator, and the ownership of the copyright in that work will only be transferred to someone else if it is done so in writing.

The bottom line, you own the works that you created for this company if you were simply working as a contractor. You can wreak havoc on this company, especially if they have given your works to their clients and they are using them. You own the copyright in that work the minute you create that work. You do not need to register a work in order to "own" the copyright. However, you do need to register that work before you can sue for copyright infringement. My suggestion would be to enumerate all the works that you created for them and approach them and simply tell them the facts that you own all of this and you want the creative works and all copies back in your possesion or you want a check for full payment. If they get pushy, simply let them know that you will do two things. One, you will contact all clients that are using these works and you will inform them that they are infringing your copyright and simply explain why. No need to be pushy with them, because they are a victim in this too. Tell the clients that they can either help you get payment in which case they can continue to use the art work or they can pay you directly for the work or they can discontinue their use of the work. Two, you will sue the company that owes you money for copyright infringement. In this case, you will need to register all works before continuing. And at that point, contacting an IP (Intellectual Property) attorney would probably further your purpose. He or she can explain the damamges that you could receive.

Good luck...