How do I know that the logo designed for me by a freelancer isn't copyrighted?
Hello,
I have given a logo design work to a freelancer. How do I know that the logo he designed is not copied from some other company? Should I just take his word for it? I am worried about copyright issues in the future.
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
Feb 2, 2017
Take a picture of the logo with your cell phone then using Google click tje images link click search for similar images and upload the photo. If they used an online tool the main picture may well be used by several companies so if many images come up again click on search tools click listed for reuse if you still see the image you are fine. The image is open source and available for use. You may also file a trademark cerificate to protect your logo as your unique brand with your local Secretary of State. Costs vary from state to state in Arizona the cost is 10 Dollars
Mar 22, 2016
Well, the process should be more in depth and involved than you coming to him like "hey I need a logo" and he's like "ok it'll cost (blah)" and you pay it and he gives you a completed project a day later.....
Situations like that are where you're most likely to get screwed over because there's a lot of vultures out here who take advantage of people who DEMAND that type of workflow from a Designer. A serious professional in this industry who knows what they're doing does a LOT more than just drawing whatever you ask them to draw. They're asking questions about your Business, what you want it to grow into, the type of people you want to cater to, the type of people you DON'T want to cater to, whether you want to offer high end or bargain items, etc. Once they have that all outlined, they'll outline what needs to occur psychologically in order to effect everybody the way needed and come up with a visual strategy for achieving that..... THEN they start coming up with concepts for the logo and doing some rough sketching until you both eventually craft the perfect concept and begin bringing it to life.
If you're going through this process with them, they're NOT swiping other people's logos because there's absolutely no way to find something that specifically fits your needs that already exists. Even if you already know what you want as a logo we STILL cover all those details before bringing it to life because we need to know HOW to bring it to life in order to make it work the way it needs to.
If you see the entire process go from conversations to rough sketches to the finished design and it's all following a unique formula to achieve a personalized list of goals, you'll know it's not bootlegged from someone else's brand. On the other hand if they show you 5-10 designs a day later that are all highly detailed and professional, they used pre-made templates that only require adding the Business name to them. Even if an Artist can work that fast starting from a blank sheet of paper they'd rather not waste all that mojo on one project keeping their fingers crossed hoping ONE of those designs are what you need and aren't sent back to do another 5-10. Someone who's only typing a name will do it 50-200 times if needed because it only takes a couple seconds to do.
So just watch the workflow and WELCOME frequent updates on the progress so you can see it evolving. Sometimes Clients don't want to have anything to do with the process because they're afraid of if it turns out to be something they don't like they won't be able to wiggle out of it in the end because of all the input they had. If they have no input and never look at it, they can always put it all on the Artist because they were 100% responsible for the outcome. Don't be like that, as long as you're a part of the process everything will go smoothly and turn out the way it needs to be. If the Artist refuses to show you how things are progressing and only wants to show you final copies, that's a red flag because NOBODY who does things from scratch wants to do everything from start to finish with no input or verification from the Client. Keep this all in mind and everything will be ok.
Mar 22, 2016
Have them put it in writing, signed. If your designer is legitimate, they won't be afraid to guarantee their work.
Nov 24, 2015
Hi Vamsi,
since you hired a freelance it is difficult you will encounter problems, but as key milestone in Marketing, DO NOT publish anything without the greenlight of a lawyer.
Kind Regards,
Emilio
Oct 30, 2015
I'm going to pipe up and address what nobody else seems to have done here: the issue of trust. Quite frankly, as an independent communication professional, I'm disturbed by your lack of trust in the supplier you chose to create your logo design. If I was the designer, I would be offended by it. Professional designers and communicators (I am an IABC member) have ethics and we don't steal other people's copyrighted work because we have inherent knowledge of copyright. If you are going to choose an independent design partner, you should be choosing someone whom you want to establish a long-term relationship with; someone who can handle all your design needs, not just a one-off logo. But your mistrust is unfortunately establishing you as a client this designer would not want to work with again. Think about this: If you were, for example, to hire me to write your marketing communications copy, would you also question whether I had plagiarized material from someone else's brochure or website? I would be offended, and I certainly would not want to have you as a client. From my perspective, adding value for you and meeting your needs, starts with building a strong, trusted relationship. Now… with all of this said, you should have had a written contract with the design that assigns the logo copyright/trademark to you. Because as others have mentioned, modernized copyright laws (in Canada and the UK, at least), stipulate that the copyright of the design belongs to the person who designed it. You could reach an agreement giving you copyright, but also that gives the designer the right to use the logo in his/her promotional materials as an example of work done for clients. Since you're in the U.S., you can register ® it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.) You can also have the designer put a (™) after it. This is an unofficial registered trademark -- meaning you are claiming first usage and it would give you grounds to take action against anyone down the road who came up with an identical design or tried to use your logo without your permission.
Mar 22, 2016
I agree with what you're saying, the problem is they clearly don't know how to tell the difference between a real professional who starts from a blank sheet of paper and works towards finished content vs. people who CLAIM to do everything from scratch but are really working off of templates and or swiping someone else's work. I battle with people on a daily basis who are used to the "standards" set by those who pretend to actually put in work and try to show them how the process really goes. but also if a person wants world class quality for $40 or less, they get what they pay for.
Oct 28, 2015
Isn't there a 70% rule when editing or changing an image too? Like with Getty Images that uses PicScout softwares to scour the internet and find images (supposedly of theirs) on other forms of media; i.e. website, logos. Unless you change the image by 70% or more, you may have infringement issues too. At least that's what I was told. And Copyright infringement is usually an International law application not just per country. In the US - at least - your image copyright infringement can be taken to court and your assets can be on a Sheriff's sale if found guilty. Unless fines, licensing and other fees (usually exorbitant) gets paid instead.
Images are an interesting proposition in logo creation when dependent on someone else's creation idea. Trademark is another aspect in question too. Trademark libraries are easy to source whereas copyright to me is not. I hope this is helpful because I had such a problem years ago using an image that was given to me - which was in fact an image used in a Collage of images and supposedly a copyrighted image. I also used a template provided from my host server - free website builder - and that had One small image on one of the template pages that was supposedly copyrighted. I checked with the host, was assured no such copyright infringement was done and I went and changed out that particular image. Had no more particular problems. But honestly, this is an issue.
I only use my own images now or make sure the Artist person is using generic 'non-copyright,", such images do exist like standard re-usable images for creating custom logos. That's what I would want in my contract of terms and any non-copyright images to be used shown to me for prior approval.
Most logo creators are not free lance artists. Yet, I have to tell you that I actually submitted a "hand drawn" idea to a Fiverr gig and he did indeed create a great logo from non copyright stock images! And I continued to edit this new logo image, using PicMonkey.com And it's a great logo, one of a kind, and copyrighted to me.
TIP: I also heard that once you have your logo (or any media/work what you want copyrighted) mail it to yourself in a sealed envelope (leave unopened) so that you can always prove the date of your copyright by the US Postal Service date stamp. Ownership is clarified with the Date too as to who owned it first, given you don't get it legally filed somewhere in the meantime. My more than "2 cents" worth.
And blessings to You that you be branded so well that Your logo is desired to be used by someone else. Works both ways. So this protection is 2 fold.
Oct 28, 2015
Did you sign a legal agreement with the freelancer and was it stated in the agreement that your logo will be a 100% unique and new work specifically for you (and that you own all rights to it when completed)? If not, I'd worry. If you are not signing an agreement with that stated in it, you're not working with a professional, period.
A blog I've previously written goes more into detail about copyright and trademark infringement with logos: http://www.jvmediadesign.com/blog/design/thinking-about-crowdsourcing-your-logo/
Oct 28, 2015
Run a search image here on Google Image (https://www.google.com/imghp) to see if they find a matching image or similar ones. Open your *.jpg logo image copy on Google Chrome or Firefox web browser, then, drag and drop it inside the Google Image search box. After searching, Google Image will show you matching images or at least similar look alike ones for you to judge. Good luck.
Oct 30, 2015
thanks ,i could find out one of the sample works was matching a logo of another company,i guess it was unintentional .But your comment helped me out
Oct 28, 2015
A good designer wont rip something off. Sometimes it does happen unknowingly, however part of what you pay for is a professional who makes sure your work is genuine. If it has indeed been copied, then the responsibility falls on the designer to alter it, or purchase permissions.
Oct 28, 2015
Any copyrightable design is copyright protected as soon as it is created by the creator unless the design can be considered a "work for hire." Freelancers, or independent contractors, are not work for hire unless an agreement with them specifically states that. So your concern, which is valid, is that the freelancer has accurately and honestly represented to you that he/she is the original creator of the design and therefore has the right to assign the design to you.
You can search the U.S. Copyright Office database (http://copyright.gov/records/index.html) to see if the design is registered as a copyright but copyright registrations are not necessary to have a copyright in a work. And any search like the others suggest would not be full proof since there is no clear and systematic method of searching designs.
What you need to do is have the freelancer sign an agreement stating that he/she assigns all copyright rights in the design to you/your company and that he represents and warrants that he is the rightful owner of the copyright with the ability to assign same to you. That agreement should contain an indemnification provision which states that if you get sued for copyright infringement because the design was copied, then the freelancer will reimburse you for any loss and damages incurred, including paying for your defense against the copyright infringement claim.
Oct 28, 2015
In the UK, a recent change in the Copyright law means that even for commissioned works the copyright initially belongs to the person creating it. I would agree with Marc Augier that you would be best to have some form of contract with the designer in which he confirms that any design is his/her original work and has not simply been copied from somewhere else, but in addition any such agreement should also confirm that the copyright in the work so created is assigned to you - a copyright assignment must be in writing in order to be effectively transferred under UK law. (By reason of the Berne Convention, this same right applies to the owners of foreign copyrights also).
I would also further agree with Mark that it is probably also a good idea to register the logo as a trade mark - in this regard, if you are going to be selling goods or providing services under the logo in foreign jurisdictions, then you will also need to register the logo in those jurisdictions. Many jurisdictions provide rights only by way of registration, not use, of a logo (mark).
Oct 28, 2015
What about the copyright of my Logo Design?
Once you have ordered a Logo Design, and have made full payment, you are the legal outright copyright owner of the final Logo Design. You are able to trademark the Logo Design. However, in case you exercise your right for money back, the copyright would automatically belong to the designer. A Consultation with a trademark attorney is encouraged.
Oct 28, 2015
Do boolean searchs for the name on the USPTO.gov site. I would spend the $500. And federally register the name/logo. Then you're certain. I'm no attorney but anyone can claim a copyright based on previous uses of the same names and is why federally registering it is the only true way to protect it in the future.
Oct 28, 2015
Hello,
You should check with Google image like Damon proposed but what will cover you best in the future is to have your contractor sign a contract where he stipulates he is the owner of the copyright, and sole responsible in case of copyright infringement.
Don't take his word, have him sign a contract!
Marc
Oct 28, 2015
Marc is 100% right - always get it in writing. Here is a simple boilerplate for "work for hire" http://www.copylaw.com/forms/Workhire.html. Good Luck
Oct 27, 2015
Hello Vamsi, A good place to start would be to upload the logo and do a Google image search. Use this URL https://www.google.com/imghp and click the picture icon in the search field to open up the upload dialog. I do recommend that you have the word "logo" in your file name because Google will look at the file name as well as the picture for clues to match. Good Luck!
Oct 30, 2015
thanks ,i could find out one of the sample works was matching a logo of another company,i guess it was unintentional .But your comment helped me out
Hi,
One of the sample works given to me by the designer ,matches a logo when i google searched it ,thats why i had asked this question.Also i didnt question my designer about any of this till now ,so there is no way he would be offended . I am not in the U.S ,neither my client ,so registering at U.S Patent and Trademark Office doesnt seem necessary ,i would prefer an International agency for patents. I will however get a written agreement from the designer . Thanks