I need some good advice!!!

[tonyloan]

I have been contracting for a number of companies for the past 4 years.

One of them produces a range of business training courses published on the internet, intranet and CR-ROM. I work all hours and get paid very little and sometimes nothing with the promise of a shareholding in the company and more money when the company starts to perform better,

My role is Creative Director, responsible for the visual identity of the company, outline and flow of the courses, including navigation and user interaction design.

I have never signed a contract all the time I have worked for the company.
I produce all the flash movies and as I understand it these are my intellectual property. Is there any way of locking in a copyright statement in a FLA. Or do I just need to write copyright © 2002/2003 ???????? All rights reserved.

The company is doing very well now and the MD (a friend!!) is on holiday all the time, new cars, house etc. I paid for my shares 2 months ago and have still not received a share certificate from Companies House or any extra money!!

I’m obviously not much of a businessman, any ideas on how I should take this forward, bearing in mind there are still more courses to produce?

[hurricaneone]

What you really need is to stop spamming the boards with your story.

Get a lawyer. Is it that difficult?

[nocrapchurch]

Tonyloan,

I can't believe your story. For four years, you've been working without a contract for litte money and a promise of future income? That is the craziest thing I've ever heard of.

Have you been giving your FLAs to these people?

Scott

[JFlashK]

Never do those things! work with a contract at your price, there is no such thing as getting paid with promises.
I want to hire 10 people that work this way. Please work hard, good and allmost for free... You'll get rewarded in the future.

[Jafang]

What’s happen is done and don't waste your time on it.
From now on:
1) Make a contract

2) Collect the money as you go (e.g 1/3 now - 2/3 then - 3/3 if project is finish)

3) In the contract you put that if the 2nd payments is not received the 1st payment is not refundable and the project will stop until the 2nd payment is paid in full. Late payment charges apply.

4) You don't give them anything until they pay the 3rd payment in full.

Follow this conmen sense and you would never have problem again. Because if they don't pay they don't get.

And there is not even one logical reason why you would give them the source or the final projects before they pay you in full.

Jafang

[cartoon guy]

Originally posted by hurricaneone
What you really need is to stop spamming the boards with your story.

Get a lawyer. Is it that difficult?

Hurricaneone, if you can't help, "don't reply". If you have to reply, don't make fool out of yourself.

[serpent star]

Hey, the guy made 4 posts since he's been here and they have all been exact copies of this. 2 of those posts were here in the boardroom. The regular users as well as the people paying the bandwidth costs of this place don't appreciate spam.

[hurricaneone]

Originally posted by cartoon guy
Hurricaneone, if you can't help, "don't reply". If you have to reply, don't make fool out of yourself.

If you don't know what the hell it is you're talking about, cartoon guy, better to can it, rather than make crass comments about people that do.

If this guy has a business problem to this degree, a public forum is not the place to air it - if this is a legitimate grievance, I say again, get lawyered and take it to court.

Thanks, BTW, serpent.

[nocrapchurch]

Originally posted by serpent star
Hey, the guy made 4 posts since he's been here and they have all been exact copies of this. 2 of those posts were here in the boardroom. The regular users as well as the people paying the bandwidth costs of this place don't appreciate spam.

I agree.

So on that note, I'll close this post just to say that the guy should stop spamming and get a lawyer. Is that so difficult?

Scott