Source Files & Clients
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- BannedKappa
Are you guys precious about your source files?
Do you hand over PSD of website you designed?
RAW Files for all illustrator work?
Are you over protective or don't give a shit?
Do you use contracts that secure your IP?Just curious what everyone else is doing.
Cheers
- ksv1230
I own all the files, if the client wants them they have to pay.
- zaq0
I specify in the contract - source files are extra
- ETM0
Yup, source files are extra. When you buy just about anything else, you buy the final product, not the plans/tools.
- airey0
depends on the client for me but i generally hand 'em over and don't give a shit. you can get bogged down in irrelevant crap and i'm more about getting the job done and moving on to the next than inventing bullshit.
- +1acrossthesea
- So you haven't developed one somewhat unique process or method you would prefer to protect?ETM
- My unique process is the concept.acrossthesea
- itsmitch0
If it's a logo or something like that, I'll always hand it over. If it's an InDesign document or code for a web app or something more complex, I'll hand it over after carefully explaining that I offer zero free support, I won't un-fuck-up shit they tried to change on their own without getting paid and I don't take phone calls from their cousin because he said he knew Photoshop but doesn't know what to do with an Illustrator file. If it's a "trade secret", a particular illustration style I've created in Photoshop or something, I'll tell them they're getting the original but I'll flatten any layers that would show how I did something so the $6/hour "designer" they outsourced to doesn't start using my style and techniques on everything.
- mydo0
If they're paying you to design, seems petty to say they can't have it.
If they want to take your designs and pass them to a "friend" to make a flyer in Word - good for them for being cash sensitive!
- VectorMasked0
No never.
Took me years of studying, practicing, headaches, experience to achieve a certain level of knowledge. I get paid for that knowledge not for secrets or techniques I have been able to polish throughout the years. I get paid to provide a product and service they can use and not to give away something that might make me lose some work (coz it indeed can happen). Imagine someone (not me) that has come up with an amazing technique or style or trend. Would he give away his secrets? nah. But in a little while you'll have people imitating that.
Give away for free professional knowledge in the form of usable files? fuck no. But they can pay for them. Everything has a price and this is certainly not meant to be given away for free. Wonder what my school would have said if I had asked for free education and not pay a dime.
The last part shows how ridiculous a request like that is when used in any other industry.
- itsmitch0
VectorMasked — That's a valid argument, and well illustrated with the ending of that video. But how exactly do you explain to the client that (in my case) they paid by the hour but they're only paying for the final product. This would probably be easier if I charged per project, so it is closer to them just buying an end product, instead of per hour. I've been fucked over so many times with scope creep that I refuse to work that way anymore. Is it a standard part of your contract? Do you just tell them thats X amount extra?
- VectorMasked0
well... first of all that has got to be discussed before doing any work.
You have to ask about...basic project info, deliverables, corporate requirements, client-supplied materials, other materials that will cost extra such as typefaces or stock photography, approvers, contract and how things have a price and are not free like typefaces or the source files themselves.
An hour-by-hour thing has absolutely nothing to do with your service. Before anything... just get rid of that concept that paying by the hour somehow forces designers to give away files. It's ridiculous.
I also charge by the hour, but they can't get my knowledge in the way of usable files for free. In reality a flat fee (and lets be really honest here) is the same as going by the hour. You just do so math, figure out an approximate amount of hours and are done. Nothing really changes.
it's just like that last bit of the video in the restaurant... It's damn weird to be asking for more than just a service. Now... would it be ok for the chef to give away his secrets if he was hired let's say by the hour for a corporate event or a party or a wedding? Would he be forced to give away his knowledge?I have a magazine here with a good article on "file sharing" as they call it. Will type a few sentences from key parts...
"The law has some basic provisions, one of which is that the author of an artistic work is the first owner of the copyright in that work — this means that in the absence of a formal contract, the designer retains copyright to the work and has no legal obligation to provide working files of any kind"
"As a designer, you have invested a lot of time in developing workflows and processes to streamline your business and make it more efficient. Your working documents are a reflection of these proceses and they can be considered your competitive advantage in the marketplace"
Something else you have to considere is that "creative work is not transferable" without proper notice. This means by giving away working files you might be force to give away typefaces worth hundreds of dollars, or images that are not meant to be given away free. There's actual elements that require licenses and so giving files away for free would make you the one breaking the law basically and it's a slap in the face for other creative people that work based on hours, licenses or usage (ie. photographers, illuystrators and typographers).
the last paragraphs reads... "If you find yourself in this situation for the first time, don't fret. Communicate with your clients. Ask them what their intentions are. Explain to them why the files are propietary and demonstrate how they possess monetary value. Charge them extra, if you choose. After all, they are likely buying the product and not the process."
- paraselene0
my clients get source files, ip, everything. as a matter of course.
- VectorMasked0
So basically source files have a cost. They are not free.
You are free to give them away at no cost. Some do it out of fear of losing a client. But... be aware that giving them away for free might cost you future work and will come back to bite you in the ass in some way and then'll turn into something you won't be able to stop. So basically in the end, it not beneficial for you.